S. 5254
Civil Nuclear Export Act of 2026
Sponsor: James E. Risch
1 cosponsor
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Civil Nuclear Export Act of 2026
This bill provides the Export-Import Bank with certain authorities to finance civil nuclear energy exports.
Specifically, the bill allows the Export-Import Bank to provide financing for the purchase of liquid metal fast breeder nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities if the purchase is otherwise permitted by law.
Additionally, the bill expands the China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP) by making civil nuclear energy eligible for financing under the program. Currently, the bank may extend loans, guarantees, and insurance to advance the comparative leadership of the United States with respect to China in specified export areas (e.g., artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and wireless communications equipment). This bill expands those areas to include civil nuclear energy technologies, materials, services, and related infrastructure and goods.
The bill also revises the financial limitation on the outstanding aggregate amount of all of the bank's loans, guarantees, and insurance. In particular, the bill exempts those amounts attributed by the bank to CTEP, as long as that financing does not exceed a specified amount.
The bill also increases from 2% to 4% the bank's default rate cap. Further, the bill allows the bank to exclude financing under CTEP from this default rate, subject to approval of the bank's board of directors.
Text of the bill
Section 6(a) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking applicable amount. and inserting “applicable amount, unless the aggregate amount that is in excess of the applicable amount—
(A) is attributed by the Bank to loans, guarantees, and insurance under the Program on China and Transformational Exports pursuant to section 2(l); and
(B) does not exceed $50,000,000,000.
(2) in paragraph (3)—
(A) in the header, by striking 2 and inserting 4; and
(B) by striking 2 percent each place it appears and inserting 4 percent; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
(5) Authority to attribute loans, guarantees, and insurance. The Bank may attribute any loan, guarantee, or insurance issued under the Program on China and Transformational Exports pursuant to section 2(l) toward the aggregate amount that is in excess of the applicable amount described in paragraph (1) without regard to the date on which the Bank issued such loan, guarantee, or insurance.