Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The following analysis is based on draft bill text that was made available by the House of Representatives and may differ from the bill text as introduced.
Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act
This bill modifies requirements governing the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), including by allowing the committee to decline to review certain license applications (e.g., applications for commercial nuclear power plants) issued by the NRC.
Specifically, the committee may decline to review license applications regarding certain commercial, industrial (e.g., utilization and production facilities), medical (e.g., therapy, such as radiation treatment), or research and development purposes if it determines that such applications do not (1) contain issues that are unique, novel, or noteworthy; or (2) raise issues that warrant review by the committee.
The bill also directs the committee to focus on issues that (1) directly relate to reactor design, (2) are safety significant, (3) are novel, and (4) have not been previously acted on by the committee.
In addition, it directs the NRC to maintain or modify policies to ensure efficient and timely action by the committee.
Finally, the bill requires the membership of the committee to reflect a diverse background of technical expertise relevant to the NRC's mission.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 9, 2026. 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 10, 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?
Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) introduced it on July 9, 2026, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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 July 9, 2026, 128 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4 days ago, on November 10, 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