H.R. 1474 — International Nuclear Energy Financing Act of 2025

This section establishes the short title as the “International Nuclear Energy Financing Act of 2025.”

This section sets out congressional findings on nuclear power, including that nuclear energy is an emissions-free source that produces approximately 30 percent of the world’s low-carbon electricity, that 33 countries operated nuclear power plants in 2021, and that the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation have sought to export nuclear reactors to Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, Africa, and South Asia. It further finds that Russian state-owned nuclear operator Rosatom was involved in 73 projects in 29 countries at the time of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, that the Russian Federation is building 21 reactors outside its borders, and that the People’s Republic of China is assembling more than one-third of reactors under construction globally. The section also notes that 28 countries have expressed interest in nuclear power, that 10 to 12 embarking member states plan to operate nuclear power plants by 2030-2035, and that the United States and more than 20 other countries pledged on December 2, 2023, to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 and support nuclear financing through the World Bank and regional development banks.

This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Director at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and any other multilateral development bank the Secretary determines appropriate to use the United States’ voice, vote, and influence to advocate for two changes: (1) removing bank prohibitions on financial and technical assistance for nuclear energy generation and distribution, but only as those prohibitions apply to nuclear technologies that meet or exceed the quality standards prevalent in the United States or a U.S.-allied country; and (2) increasing the banks’ internal capacity to assess the role of nuclear energy in client countries’ energy systems and to deliver the financial and technical assistance described above.

This section establishes Nuclear Energy Assistance Trust Funds at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other international financial institutions as the Secretary of the Treasury deems appropriate. It directs the Secretary to instruct the United States Governors of those institutions to use U.S. voice, vote, and influence to create the funds, which would provide financial and technical assistance for nuclear energy generation and distribution in borrowing countries, support financing on competitive terms to counter credit from non-OECD Arrangement countries, limit support to nuclear technologies meeting or exceeding U.S. or allied-country quality standards, and strengthen the institutions’ capacity to assess, implement, and evaluate nuclear energy projects. It also authorizes the trust fund revenues to be used for those purposes or, if the Secretary determines appropriate, to remit the U.S. share to the general fund of the Treasury.

This section directs the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies to include, for the 7-year period beginning on the date of enactment, in the annual report required under section 1701 of the International Financial Institutions Act, a description of any progress made to (1) promote multilateral development bank assistance for nuclear energy and (2) establish a trust fund under section 1507 of that Act or, if such a trust fund exists, a summary of its activities.

This section terminates this Act and the amendments made by this Act beginning 10 years after the date of enactment. (Thus, the Act’s provisions and any statutory changes made by it will cease to have legal effect on that date.)