london (Platts)--24May2007

TWO HOUSE PANELS APPROVED BILLS MAY 23 TO ESTABLISH A NUCLEAR FUEL BANK. The 
House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee spending bill
for fiscal 2008 includes $100 million, while the House Foreign Affairs
Committee bill authorizes $50 million. 

The international bank, which would be administered  by the IAEA, is a key
part of various nonproliferation schemes. Countries that 
do not pursue uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing would be
eligibleto receive fuel from the bank, if conventional fuel-supply mechanisms
fail. 

The foreign affairs bill is a revised version of legislation introduced
earlier this year by the panel's chairman, California Democrat Tom Lantos. Key
changes include a tightening of the eligibility requirements for potential
recipients of the bank's fuel.