Senator expands probe into Obama-era Uranium One deal

A top Republican senator has expanded his investigation into an Obama-era deal that gave Russia partial control of the U.S. uranium supply, claiming he was repeatedly misled by the Obama administration about a Russian company’s ability to export that material.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, fired off a letter Monday to the heads of the U.S. Energy Department and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking an extensive list of documents.

He wants to know more about the controversial sale of Canadian mining company Uranium One to a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom nuclear company – and specifically, how uranium under its control made its way out of the U.S.

“Beginning in 2012, Uranium One exported U.S. uranium by ‘piggy-backing’ as a supplier on an export license” held by a shipping company, Barrasso wrote.

That’s apparently not how the process was explained to him when he first raised concerns.

Back in 2011, then-NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko assured the senator that the companies did not hold a specific “NRC export license” and would not be able to export uranium from the U.S. without one.

Yet The Hill reported last month that while the NRC never issued the license, memos show it did approve “the shipment of yellowcake uranium” from the U.S. mines to Canada in 2012 through a “third party.” The same report said the Obama administration later approved some of that material to go to Europe, “and the approval involved a process with multiple agencies.”

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