{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-responds-to-terrapower-announcement/", "Barrasso Responds to TerraPower Announcement", "2022-12-13", "2022", "2022-12", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "Highlights need for Congress and DOE to make nuclear fuel supply chain vulnerabilities a top priority in new Congress\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), released the following statement in response to TerraPower\u2019s announcement that it plans to delay its Natrium reactor project in Wyoming due to lack of American nuclear fuel.\n\n\u201cTerraPower\u2019s announcement underscores what I\u2019ve been saying for years: America must reestablish itself as the global leader in nuclear energy. Instead of relying on our adversaries like Russia for uranium, the United States must produce its own supply of advanced nuclear fuel,\u201d said Barrasso.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve introduced legislation to make this a reality and I\u2019ve repeatedly called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate and expand its efforts. It\u2019s time for DOE to stop slow-walking this process and start listening to Congress. The Biden administration must consider and implement every available option to make sure TerraPower\u2019s Natrium reactor is fueled with American-made fuel.\u201d\n\nIn response to TerraPower\u2019s announcement, Ranking Member Barrasso sent a letter to ENR Chairman Joe Manchin requesting an oversight hearing early next year to ensure that DOE is working aggressively to make high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) available for our nation\u2019s first class of advanced reactors.\n\nBarrasso also sent a letter today to Secretary of Energy Granholm blasting DOE for not moving fast enough to ensure a domestic supply of HALEU.\n\nBackground Information:\n\nOn December 8, 2022, Ranking Member Barrasso led a bipartisan group of 14 senators on a letter to Senate appropriators seeking funding for DOE\u2019s HALEU initiatives.\n\nIn April 2022, Ranking Member Barrasso introduced the Fueling Our Nuclear Future Act of 2022. The bill will ensure a domestic supply of HALEU for advanced nuclear reactors. It will direct DOE to prioritize establishing a domestic HALEU enrichment capability. It will also direct DOE to make HALEU available from their inventories to ensure advanced reactors have the fuel they need until U.S. commercial enrichment is available.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-responds-to-terrapower-announcement/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7081059738993645, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}