Senator Barrasso’s Bill to Ban Russian Uranium Imports Signed into Law

President Joe Biden signed into law a ban on Russian enriched uranium on Monday, a bill that was introduced by Senator John Barrasso last March.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources adopted S. 763 by vote as an amendment to the Nuclear Fuel Security Act.

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers introduced companion legislation, H.R. 1042, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives by voice vote on December 11, 2023. The Senate passed H.R. 1042 by unanimous consent on April 30, 2024.

Currently Russia is the world's top supplier of enriched uranium, and about 24% of the enriched uranium used by U.S. nuclear power plants come from the country.

The ban on imported uranium begins in about 90 days.

Today, Senator Barrasso released the following statement after President Biden signed into law his bipartisan legislation to ban Russian uranium imports into the United States:

“Today, we officially ended Russia’s chokehold on America’s uranium supply,” said Senator Barrasso. “Banning imports of Russian uranium will jumpstart America’s nuclear fuel industry, further defund Russia’s war machine, and help revive American uranium production for decades to come. As our nation’s leading uranium producer, Wyoming is ready to do our part to power American reactors with American nuclear fuel. Russia’s dominance of the world’s nuclear fuel supply chain is coming to an end.”

The law also unlocks around $2.7 billion from previous legislation to support the U.S. uranium fuel industry.