Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

4150

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment Extension Act''. SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY PROVISIONS.

Section 2(i)(1) of the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act (Public Law 117-151; 136 Stat. 1300) is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``2 years'' and inserting ``4 years''. ______

By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Booker, Mr. Young, and Mrs. Murray):

S. 4151. A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act to clarify existing requirements relating to fusion machines, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Mr PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Fusion Energy Act of 2024, which will accelerate the development of commercial fusion energy by codifying the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's regulatory authority.

As a former engineer, I have long been a strong supporter of fusion research and development. The critical investments that our country has made over nearly six decades in the Department of Energy's National Laboratory System have led to incredible fusion discoveries. In December 2022, in my home State of California, Lawrence Livermore National Labnatory became the first facility in the world to demonstrate fusion ignition. As good engineers do, they of course repeated their experiment--achieving ignition at least three times.

This bill would ensure that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has the clear statutory authority it needs to provide a stable regulatory environment, streamline the creation of commercial facilities, and support the development of American fusion energy.

Fusion reactions are at the heart of our very universe. In stars like our own Sun, small atoms like hydrogen combine together into larger ones like helium and release energy. If we can unlock these types of reactions in a commercial facility, we would gain access to a nearly unlimited, clean, safe, reliable, and carbon-free source of electricity for the entire Nation.

That is why Congress must do everything in its power to ensure continued U.S. leadership in developing commercial fusion energy facilities. The Fusion Energy Act would provide regulatory certainty for investors as the NRC develops and streamlines frameworks for such facilities.

I want to thank Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts for leading the House companion. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bill to advance the future of clean energy through the science of fusion.

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