Build Nuclear With Local Materials Act of 2026
Introduced- Bill / vehicle
- S.4529 + House companion (119th Congress)
- Status
- Introduced
- Date
- Introduced May 14, 2026
- Administration
- Trump II
- Topic
- Construction cost / materials
- Sponsors
- Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) & Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), House companion by Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA)
What it does
Would direct the NRC to write rules allowing ordinary commercial-grade concrete and steel in the non-safety-related parts of a nuclear plant, instead of requiring expensive 'nuclear-grade' (NQA-1) materials everywhere. The reactor's safety-critical containment boundary would keep its strict standards.
Why it matters
Construction cost and schedule are the biggest barriers to new U.S. reactors. Relaxing material rules for secondary structures could meaningfully cut both. Bipartisan and bicameral, but freshly introduced — not yet law.
This is a bill, not law. It may be amended significantly or fail to advance — most introduced bills never become law. Check the live status via the sources below.
Primary sources
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