Torres Small Introduces Legislation to Support U.S. Energy Independence and National Security

Las Cruces, N.M. – On Monday, U.S. Representatives Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) and Rob Bishop (R-UT), members of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced the Defending Against Rosatom Exports Act to ensure the caps on imports of uranium from the Russian Federation are maintained, protecting the U.S. energy market and our economy from Russian manipulation. 

In the face of increased global tensions, domestic production of our energy resources is critical to American infrastructure and national security. Notably, this legislation would extend the Russian Suspension Agreement (RSA) that expires at the end of this year to 2035. 

Torres Small’s legislation follows key recommendations from the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group Report, which outline key policy recommendations for the U.S. to secure our position in the front-end of the nuclear fuel cycle, calling the extension of the RSA “the United States’ sole buffer preventing Russia from forcing all enrichment services out of the United States, further decimating the front-end of the nuclear fuel cycle.” 

The United States and Russia have had a suspension agreement concerning imports of uranium in place since 1992, which has stopped Russia uranium enrichment services from undermining and replacing U.S. production of nuclear fuel. The expiration of caps on the Russian Federation would create dangerous vulnerabilities in the U.S. energy infrastructure that our national security relies on. The most recent updates to the Russian Suspension Agreement (RSA) were codified in 2008 in an effort led by the late U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), which set a maximum cap of 20% on enriched uranium imports from Russia through 2020. 

 Bill text can be found here.

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