On October 28, 2026, NENSC Executive Director Jay A. Tilden sent a letter to Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. of the House Energy and Commerce Committee endorsing S. 5249, the MORE American Fuel Act of 2026. The letter urges the Committee to take up the Senate-passed language. The bill would help rebuild America’s capacity to enrich its own uranium, and the Senate passed it by unanimous consent. The House now has the chance to send it to the President.
The letter commends the Committee for its 43–0 vote to pass H.R. 9612, the American Enrichment Deployment Act, which showed broad bipartisan agreement that the United States must rebuild its domestic nuclear fuel capacity. S. 5249 works toward the same goal and has already cleared the Senate. That makes it the most direct way to finish the Committee’s work this Congress.
Nuclear fuel is a national security issue. Enrichment is a critical link in the supply chain for America’s reactors and U.S. Navy warships. For decades, Russia has used its dominant position in enrichment as geopolitical leverage. In 2024, Congress banned imports of Russian enriched uranium, and the ban takes full effect in 2028. Replacing that supply means building new American enrichment capacity. That work has started but will take years to finish. The capacity is also essential to President Trump’s goal of quadrupling U.S. nuclear capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
S. 5249 removes a specific obstacle. It would let enrichers begin building their facilities once the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has docketed an application, at their own financial risk, rather than waiting for licensing to conclude. The bill changes nothing about operations, safety, or security. Enrichers must still be licensed before any equipment is installed, before any uranium hexafluoride is introduced, and before production begins. The NRC keeps its full authority to review, condition, inspect, and deny licenses. The bill simply lets construction proceed in parallel with licensing.
The letter identifies three ways the legislation serves American national security interests:
1. Giving enrichers and their customers the confidence to plan. Every month saved in construction brings domestic production closer to replacing Russian supply. Utilities plan fuel purchases and reactor operations years in advance and rely on suppliers that can deliver. Passing the bill signals that Congress is committed to making that domestic supply a reality.
2. Meeting demand for HALEU. Many advanced reactor designs, including those sought by the U.S. Department of War, run on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. The United States has no commercial-scale HALEU production today. S. 5249 will help close that gap and secure the domestic fuel supply advanced reactors need to reach commercial viability.
3. Advancing U.S. nonproliferation objectives. Countries need diverse fuel supplies for their nuclear energy programs. When the United States builds secure, reliable enrichment capacity, it gives partners an alternative to relying on Russia. It also reduces the perceived need for other countries to build their own enrichment capacity, which is strongly in the nation’s nonproliferation interest.
The letter concludes that taking up the Senate-passed language will strengthen the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, support the American enrichers and operators who depend on it, and advance the nonproliferation and national security interests of the United States. Copies were sent to Senators Shelley Moore Capito (WV) and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI).
Downloads
Download the NENSC Letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee – MORE American Fuel Act (PDF)