Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act
This bill expedites the process of reviewing certain uncontested permits and licenses for nuclear power plants (e.g., construction permits and operating licenses) by removing a requirement for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to hold a public hearing at the end of the process. The bill applies to the licenses and permits if a hearing has not been requested by a person whose interest may be affected. The bill also directs the NRC to use informal adjudicatory procedures if such a hearing is held.
Additionally, the bill directs the NRC to hold an adjudicatory hearing regarding the licensing of the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility only if the person whose interest may be affected by such construction and operation has requested the hearing.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 23, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 12, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
H. Griffith (R-VA) introduced it on September 23, 2025, and 25 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 21 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 23, 2025, 417 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2 days ago, on November 12, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers