Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate of H.R. 5866 Nuclear Energy Research and Development Acto fo 2010

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/119xx/doc11926/hr5866.pdf
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11926
H.R. 5866
Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 2010
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Science
and Technology
on September 23, 2010
SUMMARY
H.R. 5866 would authorize the appropriation of nearly $1.3 billion over the 2011-2013
period to the Department of Energy (DOE) for programs related to nuclear energy.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing
H.R. 5866 would cost $1.3 billion over the 2011-2015 period. Enacting the bill would not
affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 5866 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
 
BASIS OF ESTIMATE
For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 5866 will be enacted in 2010 and that
appropriations will be provided as specified by the bill. Estimated outlays are based on the
historical rate of spending for DOE’s nuclear energy research programs. H.R. 5866 would
authorize appropriations totaling about $1.3 billion over the 2011-2013 period, primarily
for DOE to carry out a variety of research programs related to nuclear power. (DOE
received a total of nearly $800 million for nuclear energy programs in 2010.) The
authorization includes:
 $603 million for research and development related to the nuclear fuel cycle;
 $297 million for research on crosscutting nuclear technologies and efforts to
integrate research on specific elements of nuclear energy;
 $195 million to support efforts to design and license small modular nuclear reactors;
 $192 million for nuclear energy research and development and activities to
demonstrate commercial applications of nuclear technologies; and
 $3 million for the National Institute for Standards and Technology to establish a
committee to revise and establish standards for nuclear technologies.