U.S. Senate bill to mandate disclosure of nuclear power approvals involving other nations
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators will introduce legislation on Wednesday mandating that the executive branch disclose details about authorizations it gives companies on sharing sensitive nuclear energy information with countries looking to build reactors.
Lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration for issuing seven so-called Part 810 authorizations to companies on sharing nuclear power information with Saudi Arabia and withholding information about them. They want to ensure the kingdom eventually agrees to strong nuclear power safeguards on uranium enrichment and reprocessing to avoid the risk of an arms race in the Middle East.
Several lawmakers in the Senate and House have asked the administration for details on the authorizations, but were told that even the names of companies that got them are proprietary. Previous 810 authorizations were made available to the public at the Department of Energy headquarters.
"There's a bipartisan concern on this committee that we don't have enough information about these potential nuclear deals between the United States and Saudi Arabia in an already volatile area of the world," Senator Edward Markey said at Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
Markey and fellow Democrat Senator Tim Kaine will introduce the legislation with Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Todd Young. A similar bill is expected in the House.
