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WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday aimed at accelerating nuclear power projects, which was sponsored by Utah Rep. John Curtis.
Curtis, a Republican and founder of the Conservative Climate Caucus, has long been a proponent of nuclear power and introduced the Advanced Nuclear Reactor Prize Act last year. The bill would streamline the process of approving advanced nuclear power projects and offer financial incentives to companies working on nuclear development.
"The costs and red tape associated with our permitting process are proving to be duplicative and ineffective," Curtis stated Thursday. "We need innovation in the nuclear space to ensure affordable, reliable and clean energy in our future, and Congress must do more to ensure that can happen."
It's not the first time the proposal from Curtis has earned support from the chamber. House lawmakers approved it in February, but it passed Wednesday as part of a package to amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act — an effort to "fast track" the bill in the Senate, according to a news release from Curtis' office.
The bill passed, overwhelmingly, with 195 Republicans and 198 Democrats voting in favor. All four of Utah's Republican representatives voted for the bill.
Curtis said his proposal would be a boon to Utah's uranium mining industry and would support the White Mesa Mill in San Juan County, the only "conventional uranium mill operation in the United States."
Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-South Carolina, one of the lead sponsors of the nuclear package passed in February, at the time called the effort "the most significant update to nuclear energy policy in the United States in over a generation," according to the New York Times. The Times noted that about 18% of the nation's electricity is generated by nuclear power, "but only three reactors have been completed in the United States since 1996."
Bipartisan senators have also been working on policy to streamline the process for new nuclear power developments. The House bill will now advance to the Senate for approval.
