Senate Republicans Thursday introduced a bill to prohibit the import of Russian uranium to the US.

The bill was sponsored by John Barrasso of Wyoming, who was joined by Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND). Senator Barrasso called on the country to remove all Russian energy from its marketplace because Russia will use the money from uranium sales to help fund its war in Ukraine. According to Senator Barrasso, while the banning of Russian oil, gas and coal was “an important step, it cannot be the last.”

Senator Lummis also urged cutting off all Russian imports, including uranium, saying that “Wyoming has more than enough uranium to fill this gap.” Senator Marshall noted that uranium from Russia and its allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan account for nearly half of all imports to the US and that this dependence on imports represented a threat to national security. Senator Cramer called the bill “an impetus to change” the United States’ domestic uranium capacity.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, applauded the legislation and said “[a]ggressive action must be taken” to reduce American dependence on imported uranium.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee.