Sponsors
The bill lowers federal spending and gives multi-year authorization certainty for the West Valley project but does so by reducing annual funding, which risks slower cleanup, greater local safety/environmental exposure, and cost-shifting to state and local entities.
Taxpayers will see lower annual federal outlays for the West Valley Demonstration Project — a reduction of about $25 million per year compared with prior authorization.
Local governments, utilities, and project planners get an extended, predictable authorization window through FY2037, supporting multi-year planning and authorization certainty for the project.
Communities near West Valley and the project workforce may face slower or reduced nuclear cleanup and remediation because operators and contractors would have about $25 million less per year to perform work, increasing environmental and safety risks and potentially delaying completion.
Reduced federal funding may shift more cost or responsibility to state and local authorities or contractors, creating financial pressure on nonfederal stakeholders.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Lowers the authorized annual funding for the West Valley Demonstration Project to $50 million and authorizes that amount for FY2027–FY2037.
Changes the authorized annual federal funding for the West Valley Demonstration Project to $50,000,000 per year and sets that authorization to apply for fiscal years 2027 through 2037. The measure replaces an earlier authorization that had provided $75,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2020–2026. This is an authorization change (not a direct appropriation). Actual yearly funding still requires future appropriations; the amendment primarily adjusts the authorized funding level and the years it covers.
Introduced November 12, 2025 by Nicholas A. Langworthy · Last progress November 12, 2025