Introduced in Senate — S. 2176

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 2176

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 25 (legislative day, June 24), 2025

Mrs. Fischer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To require a report on future activities and resources for the delivery of specialized infrastructure, and for other purposes.

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the NNSA Infrastructure Improvements Act of 2025.

Sec. 2. Definitions

In this Act:

(1) Administration

The term Administration means the National Nuclear Security Administration.

(2) Appropriate congressional committees

The term appropriate congressional committees means—

(A)

the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and

(B)

the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(3) Specialized infrastructure

The term specialized infrastructure means any facility—

(A)

that supports the nuclear stockpile mission, including capabilities to handle and process—

(i)

special nuclear materials;

(ii)

radioactive, hazardous, and specialized materials;

(iii)

non-nuclear unique components; and

(iv)

assembled nuclear weapons;

(B)

that supports the global security mission of the Administration; or

(C)

that supports naval spent fuel management, nuclear material testing and examination, and functional nuclear laboratory consolidation for naval nuclear propulsion.

Sec. 3. Findings

Congress finds the following:

(1)

On October 15, 2024, the Administration published the Enterprise Blueprint, a 25-year roadmap to deliver essential infrastructure on time and at scale.

(2)

The nuclear enterprise infrastructure of the Administration relies on specialized production facilities and science and technology infrastructure to meet nuclear deterrence needs, including—

(A)

research and design sites, which offer specialized research, design, certification, assessment, simulation, and engineering capabilities for the nuclear stockpile, nuclear nonproliferation, and counterterrorism;

(B)

technology and manufacturing sites, which provide unique production, processing, manufacturing, assembly and disassembly, integration, technology development, and staging and storage capabilities for nuclear weapons and materials;

(C)

naval reactors sites, which are responsible for design and engineering of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the Navy and management and examination of naval spent fuel; and

(D)

the special experimentation site, which hosts one-of-kind subcritical testing and a broad suite of unique experimental capabilities for the nuclear deterrence mission, including the safe handling of special nuclear and other hazardous materials.

(3)

The current state of the nuclear enterprise infrastructure of the Administration reflects decades of neglect and insufficient planning, which has resulted in more than 1/2 of the facilities within the nuclear enterprise infrastructure, many of which date back to the Manhattan Project, being in poor condition.

(4)

The United States must recapitalize, modernize, and expand the nuclear enterprise infrastructure to provide sufficient capacity and capability to meet the requirements of nuclear modernization programs of record.

(5)

The roadmap outlined in the Enterprise Blueprint provides a path forward to reconfigure an aged enterprise to meet dynamic and demanding mission requirements, including—

(A)

simultaneous design, development, and production of more than 6 modernized nuclear weapons systems; and

(B)

enduring stockpile stewardship requirements to ensure the nuclear deterrent of the United States remains safe, secure, effective, and credible.

(6)

The roadmap aligns the recapitalization strategy to address targeted needs with the programs of record as of the date of the enactment of this Act, sequencing projects so that facilities are replaced before failure and capabilities are delivered at the speed of relevance.

(7)

To effectuate the roadmap in the Enterprise Blueprint, the Administration must continuously review infrastructure investment plans for the near-, medium-, and long-term, and provide Congress with cost estimates, projected schedules, and workforce requirements to meet nuclear deterrence needs.

Sec. 4. Report

(a) In general

Not later than February 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Administrator for Nuclear Security shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on future activities and resources for the delivery of specialized infrastructure with demands across the nuclear stockpile, global security, and naval nuclear propulsion missions, which shall include the following:

(1)

An assessment of infrastructure investments necessary in the 5 fiscal years following the fiscal year of the report, including—

(A)

the cost estimates and schedules for such infrastructure investments;

(B)

the impacts to workforce requirements of the Administration;

(C)

the status of any reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act for such infrastructure investments;

(D)

an explanation of the targeted needs addressed by such infrastructure investments; and

(E)

a summary of progress made towards achieving such infrastructure investments.

(2)

For fiscal year 2027 and each subsequent fiscal year, an explanation of any changes in cost estimates and schedules for the projects listed in the assessment required by paragraph (1) for the prior fiscal year.

(3)

An assessment of infrastructure investments necessary in the 6 to 15 fiscal years following the fiscal year of the report, including—

(A)

an estimated schedule for such infrastructure investments; and

(B)

an explanation of the targeted needs addressed by such infrastructure investments.

(4)

(5)

An assessment of the infrastructure investments necessary in the 16 to 25 fiscal years following the fiscal year of the report, including an explanation of the targeted needs such infrastructure investments are addressing.

(6)

(b) Form

Each report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.