Text of Senate Amendment 6352

On 2026-06-24, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6352" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6352

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S3476] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6352. Mr. HEINRICH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: SEC. ___. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF PLUTONIUM TO PRIVATE ENTITIES FOR COMMERCIAL USE. Section 57 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2077) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``f. Prohibition on Transfer of Plutonium to Private Entities for Commercial Use.-- ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection: ``(A) Commercial activity.--The term `commercial activity' means an activity carried out for profit, including the generation of electricity for sale. ``(B) Nuclear explosive device.--The term `nuclear explosive device' means any device that uses source material or special nuclear material that is designed to or capable of producing a nuclear explosion, including a nuclear weapon, weapon prototype, or a weapon test device, regardless of whether the device is intended for use as a weapon. ``(C) Private entity.--The term `private entity' means a person other than a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States. ``(D) Separated plutonium.--The term `separated plutonium' means plutonium with respect to which separation of plutonium has occurred. ``(E) Separation of plutonium.--The term `separation of plutonium' means any chemical, physical, or other process applied to spent nuclear fuel or other material containing plutonium that produces a product in which plutonium-- ``(i) is isolated from other transuranic elements, including neptunium, americium, and curium, to a degree such that the product could be used in the manufacture of a nuclear explosive device without further separation of the plutonium from those other transuranic elements; or ``(ii) is otherwise rendered usable, or usable with minimal further processing, in the manufacture of a nuclear explosive device. ``(2) Prohibition on transfer and possession of plutonium.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) or section 53, the United States, including the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, may not transfer title to, or possession of, any plutonium to a private entity for use by that private entity in commercial activity unless an exception described in paragraph (6) applies. ``(3) Retrieval of previously transferred plutonium.-- ``(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of Energy shall retrieve any plutonium that, as of that date of enactment, is in the possession of a private entity as a result of a transfer of the plutonium for use in a commercial activity, unless an exception described in paragraph (6) applies. ``(B) Effect of failure to retrieve.--Any plutonium that the Secretary of Energy is required to retrieve under subparagraph (A) that remains in the possession of a private entity at the end of the 90-day period described in that subparagraph shall be considered to be a possession in violation of paragraph (2). ``(4) Prohibition on importation of separated plutonium by private entities.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any license issued under that subsection, no private entity may import into the United States any separated plutonium for use in a commercial activity, unless an exception described in paragraph (6) applies. ``(5) Prohibition on commercial separation of plutonium.-- No person operating, pursuant to a license issued under section 103 or 104, a facility that reprocesses spent nuclear fuel or other source material or special nuclear material may use, in that operation, any process that results in the separation of plutonium. ``(6) Exceptions described.--An exception referred to in this subsection is-- ``(A) the possession or transfer of plutonium composed of 80 percent or more by weight of the isotope plutonium-238; ``(B) the possession of plutonium by or transfer of plutonium to a contractor or subcontractor operating a facility for the account of the Department of Energy, where title to the plutonium remains with the United States; or ``(C) the possession or transfer of plutonium for purposes of the disposal, disposition, downblending, or vitrification of plutonium under a program of the Department of Energy relating to nuclear proliferation or radioactive waste management, subject to the condition that any plutonium derived from a possession or transfer under this subparagraph shall not be used in a commercial activity.''. ______