Energy: U.S. Enrichment Corporation Fund (2015-16)

As of March 2022, Congress had not passed legislation to permanently rescind the entire balance of the USEC Fund, as GAO suggested in April 2015. However, Congress has passed legislation to transfer some balances in the USEC Fund to the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund, which is used to help pay for cleanup costs at the nation’s former enrichment plants. Specifically, in December 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which included a provision directing that $291 million of the balances in the USEC Fund be transferred to and merged with the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund. Pub. L. No. 116-260, div. D, tit. V, § 506, 134 Stat. 1182, 1379 (2020). In addition, in March 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which the President signed March 15, 2022. The act included a provision directing that $841 million of the balances in the USEC Fund be transferred to and merged with the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund. Pub. L. No. 117-103, 136 Stat. 49, div. D, tit. III, §308 (2022). On March 24, 2022, $841 million was transferred from the USEC Fund to the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund, leaving a remaining balance of approximately $600 million in the USEC Fund.

Congress has proposed other legislation addressing USEC Fund balances. Specifically, in September 2021, a bill was introduced in the Senate to rescind remaining amounts in the USEC Fund, transfer them to the Treasury, and terminate the fund (S. 2733, 117th Cong.).

GAO believes that Congress should pass legislation to rescind the remaining amount in the USEC Fund. Rescission may increase the transparency of federal agencies' budget presentations and help Congress have a clear understanding of how new funding requests relate to funding decisions for existing projects with continuing resource needs. Transferring the balance of the USEC Fund to another account would result in the availability of that balance for another purpose.