Govwatch

Introduced

In Committee

3

Passed One Chamber

4

Passed Both

5

Signed into Law

Sponsor

H. Morgan Griffith

Republican · VA · Representative

Votes with party: 96.7% (599 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/G000568

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (24)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.

2026-07-14

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

House Committee on Energy and CommerceReferred To · 2025-09-23

Plain-English Summary

The proposal would speed up the process for holding public hearings on nuclear power plant licenses by setting strict time limits for how long these hearings can last and requiring them to focus only on specific safety and environmental issues. This would affect nuclear power companies seeking to build or operate plants, as well as the public and environmental groups that currently have opportunities to raise concerns during these lengthy review processes. The changes aim to make licensing faster while potentially reducing the time available for detailed public input on nuclear projects.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Energy

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 5549 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5549 To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for more efficient hearings on nuclear facility construction applications, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 23, 2025 Mr. Griffith (for himself, Ms. Schrier, and Mr. Veasey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for more efficient hearings on nuclear facility construction applications, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act''. SEC. 2. UPDATING HEARING PROCEDURES. (a) Hearings and Judicial Review.--Section 189 a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1)(A)-- (A) by striking ``In any proceeding under this Act'' and inserting the following: ``(i) In any proceeding under this Act''; and (B) in clause (i) (as so designated), by striking ``The Commission shall hold a hearing'' and all that follows through ``upon a determination by the Commission that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration.'' and inserting the following: ``(ii) The Commission may, in the absence of a request for a hearing by any person whose interest may be affected, issue a construction permit, an operating license, a combined construction permit and operating license, an amendment to a construction permit, an amendment to an operating license, or an amendment to a combined construction permit and operating license under section 103, 104 b., 104 c., or 185 b. for a facility or a testing facility, without a hearing, but upon thirty days notice and publication once in the Federal Register of its intent to do so. The Commission may dispense with such thirty days notice and publication with respect to any application for an amendment to a construction permit, an amendment to an operating license, or an amendment to a combined construction permit and operating license upon a determination by the Commission that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. ``(iii) The Commission shall use informal adjudicatory procedures for any hearing held by the Commission pursuant to this subparagraph.''; (2) in paragraph (1)(B)(iv)-- (A) by inserting ``informal'' before ``hearing procedures''; and (B) by striking ``, whether informal or formal adjudicatory,''; and (3) in the second sentence of paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``required hearing'' and inserting ``hearing held by the Commission under this section''. (b) Construction Permits and Operating Licenses.--Section 185 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2235(b)) is amended by striking ``After holding a public hearing under section 189 a. (1)(A),'' and inserting ``After the thirty days notice and publication period or holding a hearing, as applicable, under section 189 a. (1)(A),''. (c) Licensing of Uranium Enrichment Facilities.--Section 193(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2243(b)) is amended by-- (1) in paragraph (1)-- (A) by striking ``on the record''; and (B) by inserting ``if a person whose interest may be affected by such construction and operation has requested a hearing regarding the licensing of the construction and operation of the facility'' after ``and 63''; and (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Such hearing'' and inserting ``If a hearing is held under paragraph (1), the hearing''. (d) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to all applications and proceedings pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on…

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