Sunset the department's lending authority and close the loan office
What the document says“Should seek to sunset DOE’s loan authority through Congress and eventually eliminate the Loan Program Office.”
This accompanies the proposal to make no new loans, and follows the chapter's argument that taxpayers should not have their dollars at risk without gaining the economic rewards of success.
What the document actually says“Should seek to sunset DOE’s loan authority through Congress and eventually eliminate the Loan Program Office.”
Ask Congress to end this power. Then close the loan office for good.
The department has power to lend money. The book says Congress should take it away. Then the loan office would close.
Making consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes
2026-01-23 · 140 Stat. 5
Public Law 119-74 carries a heading for the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program, appropriates $35,000,000 for its necessary administrative expenses available until September 30, 2027, and adds $150,000,000 for the cost of loan guarantees for the construction of small modular reactors or advanced nuclear reactors eligible under section 1703(b)(4) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The passage asks that the department's loan authority be sunset through Congress and the Loan Programs Office eventually eliminated, and the act continues and funds that program instead. The fit breaks down in that the act does not name the Loan Programs Office, sets no end date for the lending authority in either direction, and is an appropriation for one fiscal year rather than a decision on whether the authority should be sunset.
The 2026 spending law funds the energy loan guarantee program. It gives $35 million for running costs and $150 million toward loan guarantees for small nuclear plants. The passage asked that this lending power be ended in time. Instead the law keeps it, sets no end date, and never names the loan office.