Arrington Celebrates the Passage of Amendment to Empower Abilene Christian Molten Salt Reactor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House passed the Fiscal Year 2026 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act by a vote of 214-213. This legislation included an amendment offered by House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) to make available $50 million of the Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Fund to distribute advanced fuels to advanced university research reactors, like Abilene Christian University's Molten Salt Research Reactor. Prior to the vote Chairman Arrington spoke on the House floor in support of the amendment ahead of its passage.

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Remarks as Delivered:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Chairman Fleischmann, my dear friend from the great state of Tennessee, my amendment makes good on President Trump's executive order to supercharge U.S. energy dominance by harnessing advanced nuclear technologies in the heart of West Texas at Abilene Christian University.

We're building a first-of-its-kind molten salt research reactor.

A game changer, no doubt, for making nuclear energy safer, more efficient, and deployable.

This project, Mr. Speaker, isn't just pie in the sky.

It's generated over $110 million in private investment, $112 million from the state of Texas, and, just last month, thanks to the leadership and vision of Secretary Chris Wright, it has received a conditional commitment from DOE to provide its fuel.

This is the only molten salt reactor to ever receive a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first research reactor to receive an NRC construction permit in over 30 years.

All that's needed now is for this reactor to become operational, is for the federal government to do what it's always done for every research reactor in the country for decades, which is to provide the fuel at no cost to the university.

That is to those reactors that have met those stringent requirements, Mr. Speaker, this advanced nuclear technology is the best chance for America to beat China in the very important nuclear power race and secure our nation's future energy security.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. God bless West Texas and go Wildcats.

Background:

Abilene Christian University's Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) is the nation's first university molten salt research reactor to receive a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• MSRRs have the potential to be more deployable, produce significantly less nuclear waste, and be safer compared to traditional nuclear reactors.
• In order for the ACU MSRR to become operational, it needs High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel and molten salt to be delivered to the facility.
• Chairman Arrington secured language in the FY2026 Energy and Water Appropriations bill requiring DOE to consider advanced university research reactors in HALEU allocation decisions and has introduced an additional amendment to help the facility receive these resources.
• Chairman Arrington also led his colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to the Department of Energy highlighting the importance of this project.
• On August 27, the DOE issued a conditional commitment to distribute high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to three U.S. reactors, including ACU's MSRR, but the funding for the distribution was still not determined.
• Chairman Arrington's amendment makes available the funding for the delivery of HALEU to ACU's MSRR.

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