Bill
HR 1474
The bill aims to push multilateral banks to remove barriers and expand financing and expertise for nuclear energy projects abroad, including small modular reactors.
Status and procedural history
- Introduced: February 21, 2025 (Rep. J. French Hill, primary sponsor). Cosponsors include Ritchie Torres and Byron Donalds. Companion: S. 1739.
- Committee: Referred to House Committee on Financial Services (2/21/2025). Markup and consideration held; Committee ordered the bill reported (yeas and nays 39–10) on March 5, 2025. Reported (Amended) as H. Rept. 119‑23 (March 21, 2025) and placed on the Union Calendar (Calendar No. 13).
- House action: Placed on Congratulatory & Memorial Resolutions Calendar (6/1/2025), laid before the House and adopted; reported enrolled (6/1/2025).
Purpose and intent
H.R. 1474 (as reported) is intended to expand U.S. advocacy and financial support for civilian nuclear energy through multilateral development banks (MDBs). The bill responds to perceived global demand for nuclear energy (including small modular reactors), concerns about the influence of state-backed Chinese and Russian nuclear exporters, and a 2023 international pledge to increase nuclear capacity by 2050.
Key provisions
- Short title: “International Nuclear Energy Financing Act of 2025.”
- Findings: The report includes findings that nuclear power supplies roughly 30% of global low‑carbon electricity, that China and Russia are major nuclear exporters with potential safety/strategic concerns, that many countries are considering nuclear, and that an international pledge (Dec 2, 2023) supports tripling nuclear capacity by 2050.
- Section 3 — Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) advocacy (new Sec. 1506, added to Title XV of the International Financial Institutions Act, 22 U.S.C. 262o et seq.):
- Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors at the IBRD (World Bank), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other MDBs as the Secretary finds appropriate, to use U.S. “voice, vote, and influence” to:
- Advocate removal of MDB prohibitions on financial and technical assistance for nuclear generation and distribution, to the extent those prohibitions apply to nuclear technologies that meet or exceed standards prevalent in the U.S. or allied countries.
- Promote increased internal MDB capacity to assess the role of nuclear energy in client countries and to evaluate delivery of such financial and technical assistance.
- Section 4 — Establishment of Nuclear Energy Assistance Trust Funds (new Sec. 1507): The bill directs Treasury to instruct U.S. Governors at MDBs to establish nuclear energy assistance trust funds (text in the provided report is truncated). The purpose, structure, and authorities of these trust funds are not fully shown in the excerpt.
Who would be affected
- Multilateral development banks (World Bank/IBRD, EBRD, and other MDBs) — changes in policy, advisory and lending posture toward nuclear projects.
- U.S. Treasury and U.S. Executive Directors/Governors at MDBs — new instructions and advocacy responsibilities.
- Client countries seeking nuclear financing and technical assistance (particularly “embarking” countries interested in SMRs and new nuclear builds).
- Nuclear vendors, project developers, and allied governments whose technologies meet specified quality standards.
- Broader geopolitical landscape — intended to counterbalance non‑Western state-backed nuclear influence (notably China and Russia).
Potential impacts and considerations
- Could enable MDBs to finance or support nuclear projects in countries where prohibitions currently restrict such assistance, subject to bank policies and standards.
- Seeks to build MDB capacity for nuclear project assessment (safety, financial viability, environmental impact).
- Raises policy debates about safety, proliferation risk, long‑term financial exposure, and the role of public MDB financing in large nuclear projects versus alternatives (e.g., renewables, gas, private finance).
- The committee report includes a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate (not provided in the excerpt).
Notes
- The committee adopted an amendment that replaced the bill text with the Act’s language (i.e., “strike all after the enacting clause”).
- Full text of Sec. 1507 (trust funds) and any detailed funding/authorization amounts were truncated in the provided document; consult the enrolled bill or committee report H. Rept. 119‑23 for complete legislative language and CBO scoring.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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