Sec. 3118. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED NAVAL NUCLEAR FUEL SYSTEM BASED ON LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM

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## SEC. 3118 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED NAVAL NUCLEAR FUEL SYSTEM BASED ON LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM ###

(a)Availability of Funds Of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2016 for defense nuclear nonproliferation for material management and minimization, as specified in the funding table in section 4701, not more than $5,000,000 shall be made available to the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors for initial planning and early research and development of an advanced naval nuclear fuel system based on low-enriched uranium. ###

(b)Conceptual Program Plan Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Deputy Administrator shall submit to the congressional defense committees a conceptual plan for a program for research and development of an advanced naval nuclear fuel system based on low-enriched uranium to meet military requirements. Such plan shall include the following: ####

(1)Timelines. ####

(2)Costs (including an analysis of the cost of such research and development as compared to the cost of maintaining current naval nuclear reactor technology). ####

(3)Milestones, including an identification of decision points in which the Deputy Administrator shall determine whether further research and development of a low-enriched uranium naval nuclear fuel system is warranted. ####

(4)Identification of any benefits or risks for nuclear nonproliferation of such research and development and eventual deployment. ####

(5)Identification of any military benefits or risks of such research and development and eventual deployment. ####

(6)A discussion of potential security cost savings from using low-enriched uranium in future naval nuclear fuels, including for transporting and using low-enriched uranium fuel, and how such cost savings relate to the cost of fuel fabrication. ####

(7)The distinguishment between requirements for aircraft carriers from submarines. ####

(8)Any other matters the Deputy Administrator determines appropriate. ###

(c)Determination of Continued Research and Development ####

(1)Determination Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Deputy Administrator submits the conceptual plan to the congressional defense committees under subsection (b), the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Navy shall jointly submit to the congressional defense committees the determination of the Secretaries as to whether the United States should continue to pursue research and development of an advanced naval nuclear fuel system based on low-enriched uranium. ####

(2)Budget requests If the Secretaries determine under paragraph

(1)that research and development of an advanced naval nuclear fuel system based on low-enriched uranium should continue, the Secretaries shall ensure that each budget of the President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year thereafter in which such research and development is carried out includes in the budget line item for the “Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation” account amounts necessary to carry out the conceptual plan under subsection (b). ###

(d)Memorandum of Understanding If the Secretaries determine under subsection (c)(1) that research and development of an advanced naval nuclear fuel system based on low-enriched uranium should continue, not later than 60 days after such determination, the Deputy Administrator shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation regarding such research and development, including with respect to how funding for such research and development will be requested for the “Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation” account and provided to the “Naval Reactors” account to carry out the program.