U.S. House of Representatives passes bill to ban imports of Russian enriched uranium

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Monday to pass legislation that would ban the import of Russian enriched uranium. The bill will be sent to the Senate for consideration. It has support in the Senate, but the rest of this year is limited, and it is unknown whether it can be passed within the year. The "Law to Ban Russian Uranium Imports" was passed by voice vote. If it becomes law in the future, it will ban imports of Russian uranium 90 days after enactment, while allowing temporary exemptions until January 2028.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy, the enriched uranium supplied by Russia accounts for nearly a quarter of the enriched uranium required for more than 90 commercial reactors in the United States. It was the largest foreign supplier to the United States last year.

Chris Gadomski, chief nuclear analyst at New Energy Finance, said that Russia is also the only commercial source of a special nuclear fuel, high-abundance low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is used in a new type of advanced nuclear reactor being developed.