12. Department of Energy and Related Commissions · Notable · Needs Congress
Reform NRC funding so licensee fees cover only entity-specific activities
Printed page 409 12. Department of Energy and Related Commissions
“Work with Congress to reform its funding approach so that licensee fees are generally required for activities that are specific to a regulated entity, with other agency costs being provided through normal appropriations.”
What has happened
- Attempted
Congress did not change the NRC's funding approach: the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act still requires the Commission to recover about 100 percent of its annual budget from licensees, and no bill amending it passed either chamber. The executive routed around the statute instead — the NRC's final FY 2026 fee rule establishes fixed caps on service fees under EO 14300 section 5(a), limiting what a licensee pays for its own review while leaving the fee-recovery mandate and the annual fee structure intact. Executive action that leaves the target statute intact is `attempted` (playbook 3b).
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
Requires-Congress ask. Bill file searched: the Nuclear Regulatory Modernization Act of 2026 (H.R. 9658) was referred to committee on 13 July 2026 and the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act (S. 1757) was referred in May 2025; referral is not started on the ladder and neither reforms the fee structure the Quote names.
The ADVANCE Act of 2024 reduced advanced-reactor applicant fees before the evidence window opened; it is background, not action inside the window.
- Action
- other
- Object
- NRC licensee fee funding structure
- ID
- 1041