(The Center Square) – Nuclear energy reform legislation that could lower energy bills for North Carolinians has been signed into law Tuesday by President Joe Biden.
Included in the package was a key proposal from U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C.
“This’ll lower your energy bill, create American jobs and make us safer in the world,” Hudson wrote on social media.
He added it’s a “big win for North Carolinians!”
Hudson introduced the Advanced Nuclear Deployment Act in November. It cleared the House of Representatives in February and was included in the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023, a bipartisan, bicameral nuclear energy reform package sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Specifically, the legislation “reduces barriers to entry for commercial developers of advanced nuclear reactor technology; provides regulatory certainty; and reduces bureaucratic red tape with applications for ANR development, implementation, and demonstration,” a release from Hudson’s office said.
ANR is an acronym for advanced nuclear reactor.
Summary of the bill, according to Congress.gov, also says it “reauthorizes through FY2030 the U.S. Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.” And, it “makes the government of China, and any entity or organization operating or incorporated in China, ineligible to be a recipient or subrecipient of federal assistance under such programs.”
“Increasing domestic production of affordable, clean energy will lower your energy bill, create American jobs, help reduce inflation, and make us safer in the world. It’s good for the environment, too,” the congressman said earlier.
When citing his record on the WhiteHouse.gov website, Biden touts building “a more resilient power grid and scales new clean energy technologies.” Context is necessary, however, on two fronts.
First, the Biden administration has given favor to those with a green agenda, such as alternative fuel vehicles. That agenda also likes wind and electric energy.
Second, another point on his record is labeled “lowering costs of families’ everyday expenses” through the $891 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Inflation was 1.4% in January 2021 when he took office, 9.1% in June 2022, 3.3% in May and consensus is Americans pay – in some cases significantly – more than they did three years ago.