DOE Access Bill Bans Nearly All Non-U.S. Citizens From Facilities Starting in 60 Days

This bill institutes a major change in who can physically access property owned, operated, or leased by the Department of Energy (DOE). Simply put, if you are not a U.S. citizen, you are banned from entering any DOE site or facility. This is a hard-and-fast rule that applies “regardless of what other laws might say,” meaning it’s designed to override any existing agreements or security clearances that might currently allow foreign nationals on site. The clock starts ticking fast: the rule takes effect 60 days after the bill is signed into law, and the Secretary of Energy must update all procedures within that same 60-day window.

The 'Five Eyes' Exception: Who Gets a Pass?

While the ban is broad, there is one very specific exception carved out. Citizens of four countries—Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—are exempt from this prohibition. These are the nations that make up the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance. For everyone else, including citizens of major U.S. allies like Germany, Japan, South Korea, or France, access to DOE facilities is completely cut off. This provision (SEC. 1) clearly aims to bolster national security and protect sensitive information housed at DOE facilities, which include national labs and nuclear sites. However, it’s a very blunt instrument for achieving that goal, relying on nationality alone rather than individual security vetting.

The Impact on Science and Research

If you’re a scientist, researcher, or engineer, this bill is a seismic shift. DOE facilities, particularly the National Laboratories, are hubs for international scientific collaboration, working on everything from cutting-edge physics to climate modeling. Many of these projects rely on foreign national researchers and contractors who are already vetted and cleared to work on site. This new rule essentially removes the vast majority of non-U.S. citizens from the talent pool, regardless of their security status or the sensitivity of their work. Think of a U.S. university running a joint project with a German research institute at a National Lab; under this bill, the German researchers are immediately locked out, potentially halting years of work.

The Real-World Cost of a Blanket Ban

By drawing a line only around the “Five Eyes” nations, the bill creates a significant practical challenge for the DOE. The agency will have 60 days to figure out how to manage thousands of existing contracts, research fellowships, and employment agreements currently held by non-U.S. citizens from non-exempt countries. For example, a specialized contractor from India working on a non-sensitive environmental cleanup project, or a highly-skilled physicist from Italy collaborating on a fundamental science experiment, would lose access overnight. This could force the DOE to either terminate these critical partnerships prematurely or relocate projects entirely, leading to wasted taxpayer dollars and significant delays in scientific progress. The goal is security, but the cost could be a major disruption to global scientific leadership.