Energy Department to chart course for nuclear reactor manufacturing boom
H.R. 2813 — Small Modular Reactor Commercialization Act of 2025 · Filed by James Baird (R-IN) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill directs the Department of Energy to create a working group tasked with identifying small modular reactor (SMR) technologies approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, assessing how the U.S. can become the leading manufacturer and deployer of SMRs, and recommending policy changes to attract manufacturing investment and develop a skilled workforce. The working group must report annually through 2030 with findings and recommendations to Congress.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to establish a federal working group to coordinate policy and strategy around small modular reactor commercialization. It is not a direct subsidy or deregulation, but rather a planning and recommendation mechanism designed to position the U.S. as a leader in SMR manufacturing and deployment.
What the text implies
- The working group's recommendations may lead to future legislation or executive action that accelerates SMR deployment without public input or environmental review, since the bill itself only mandates study and reporting.
- By focusing on 'first-of-a-kind deployment outside the US' and then attracting that manufacturing home, the bill may implicitly support U.S. government backing for SMR projects abroad, with unclear fiscal or diplomatic consequences.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
small modular reactor manufacturers and developers; nuclear equipment suppliers; utilities and energy companies with nuclear portfolios