To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future demands for the minerals critical to United States manufacturing competitiveness and economic and national security in a time of expanding resource nationalism, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Strategic and Critical 
Minerals Policy Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the availability of minerals and metals is essential 
        for economic growth, national security, technological 
        innovation, and the manufacturing and agricultural supply 
        chain;
            (2) the exploration, production, processing, use, and 
        recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic 
        well-being, security, and general welfare of the Nation;
            (3) the industrialization of China and India has driven 
        demand for nonfuel mineral commodities, sparking a period of 
        resource nationalism exemplified by China's reduction and 
        stoppage of exports of rare-earth mineral elements necessary 
        for telecommunications, military technologies, medical devices, 
        agricultural production, and renewable energy technologies;
            (4) the United States has vast mineral resources but is 
        becoming increasingly dependent upon foreign sources;
            (5) 25 years ago the United States was dependent on foreign 
        sources for 30 nonfuel mineral materials, 6 of which were 
        entirely imported to meet the Nation's requirements and another 
        16 of which were imported to meet more than 60 percent of the 
        Nation's needs;
            (6) by 2010, United States import dependence for nonfuel 
        mineral materials more than doubled from 30 to 67 commodities, 
        18 commodities were imported entirely to meet the Nation's 
        requirements, and another 25 commodities required imports of 
        more than 50 percent;
            (7) the United States lacks a coherent national policy to 
        assure the availability of minerals essential to manufacturing, 
        national economic well-being and security, agricultural 
        production, and global economic competitiveness; and
            (8) the Nation's ability to compete and innovate requires 
        proper planning and preparation today to meet tomorrow's 
        mineral needs.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    (a) In General.--It is the continuing policy of the United States 
to promote an adequate and stable supply of minerals to maintain our 
Nation's economic well-being, security, and manufacturing, industrial, 
energy, agricultural, and technological capabilities.
    (b) Policy Goals.--Implementation of the policy set forth in 
subsection (a) requires that the Federal Government coordinate the 
Federal departments and agencies responsible for ensuring that supply, 
to--
            (1) facilitate the availability, development, and 
        production of domestic mineral resources to meet national 
        needs, including the demands of the Nation's manufacturing and 
        agricultural industries;
            (2) promote and encourage the development of economically 
        and environmentally sound, safe, and stable domestic mining, 
        minerals, metals, processing, and minerals recycling 
        industries;
            (3) establish an assessment capability for identifying the 
        mineral demands, supply, and needs of our Nation; and
            (4) minimize duplication, needless paperwork, and delays in 
        the administration of Federal and State laws and regulations, 
        and issuance of permits and authorizations necessary to 
        explore, develop, and produce minerals and construct and 
        operate mineral-related facilities.

SEC. 4. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR REPORT ON ACCESS AND AUTHORIZATIONS 
              FOR MINERAL DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, through the 
Bureau of Land Management and the United States Geological Survey, and 
in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest 
Service Mineral and Geology Management Division), the Secretary of 
Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other appropriate 
Federal agencies, shall prepare, submit to Congress, and make available 
to the public a report that includes--
            (1) an inventory of the nonfossil-fuel mineral potential of 
        lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management 
        and the Forest Service and an identification of all such lands 
        that have been withdrawn, segregated, or otherwise restricted 
        from mineral exploration and development;
            (2) an assessment of--
                    (A) the mineral requirements to meet current and 
                emerging national security, economic, industrial 
                manufacturing, technological, agricultural, and social 
                needs;
                    (B) the Nation's reliance on foreign sources to 
                meet those needs; and
                    (C) the implications of mineral supply shortages or 
                disruptions;
            (3) a detailed description of the time required to process 
        mineral applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, 
        permits, and other use authorizations for mineral-related 
        activities on lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
        Land Management and the Forest Service, and identification of 
        measures that would streamline the processing of such 
        applications, such as elimination of overlapping requirements 
        or set deadlines;
            (4) an itemized list of all use authorizations referred to 
        in paragraph (3) for which applications are pending before the 
        Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, and the 
        length of time each of those applications has been pending;
            (5) an assessment of the impact of litigation on processing 
        or issuing mineral exploration and mine permits, identification 
        of the statutes the litigation was brought under, and the cost 
        to the agency or the Federal Government, including for payments 
        of attorney fees;
            (6) an update of the 2009 Economic Impact of the Department 
        of the Interior's Programs and Activities report to include 
        locatable minerals;
            (7) an assessment of the Federal workforce with educational 
        degrees and expertise in economic geology, geochemistry, 
        mining, industrial minerals, metallurgy, metallurgical 
        engineering, and mining engineering, including--
                    (A) retirement eligibility and agency plans for 
                retention, recruitment, and succession planning;
                    (B) comparison of the existing Federal salaries and 
                recruitment and retention bonuses with the salaries, 
                recruitment incentives, and retention packages normally 
                offered in the mineral industry; and
                    (C) examination of the differences between Federal 
                and private financial packages for early-, mid-, and 
                late-career workers; and
            (8) an inventory of rare earth element potential on the 
        Federal lands, and impediments or restrictions on the 
        exploration or development of those rare earth elements, and 
        recommendations to lift the impediments or restrictions while 
        maintaining environmental safeguards.
    (b) Progress Reports.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter for the following two 
years, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress and make 
available to the public a report that describes the progress made in 
reaching the policy goals described in section 3(b), including--
            (1) efforts to increase access to domestic supplies of 
        minerals, and facilitation of their production; and
            (2) implementation of recommendations contained in--
                    (A) the National Research Council reports--
                            (i) Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the 
                        U.S. Economy;
                            (ii) Managing Minerals for a Twenty-First 
                        Century Military; and
                            (iii) the current workforce study 
                        authorized in sections 385 and 1830 of the 
                        Energy Policy Act of 2005 (119 Stat. 744, 
                        1137);
                    (B) the Department of Energy Critical Minerals 
                Strategy I and II; and
                    (C) the Department of Defense assessment and plan 
                for critical rare earth elements in defense 
                applications required under section 843 of the National 
                Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2011.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL MINERAL ASSESSMENT.

    For the first National Mineral Assessment conducted after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the United States Geological Survey shall 
include mineral assessments for those mineral commodities important to 
the Nation's energy infrastructure, manufacturing and agricultural 
industries, and to the national defense. Priority should be given to 
minerals that are critical based on the impact of a potential supply 
restriction and the likelihood of a supply restriction.

SEC. 6. GLOBAL MINERAL ASSESSMENT.

    The United States Geological Survey is directed to expand the 
current Global Mineral Assessment to include mineral assessments for 
rare earth elements and other minerals that are critical based on the 
impact of a potential supply restriction and the likelihood of a supply 
restriction. Assessments conducted under this section shall include an 
analysis, developed with participation by the National Minerals 
Information Center and in consultation with appropriate agencies, of 
the rare earth elements or other critical minerals supply chain and 
associated processes and products, including mining, processing, 
recycling, separation, metal production, alloy production, and 
manufacturing of products sold to end users. In conducting the 
assessment, the United States Geological Survey should coordinate with 
the heads of foreign geologic surveys when possible.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) Inventory.--The term ``inventory'' means an accounting 
        of known mineral occurrences and mineral deposits, including 
        documentation of identified resources.
            (2) Mineral assessment.--The term ``mineral assessment'' 
        means an assessment of undiscovered mineral resources that 
        includes a qualitative assessment and a quantitative assessment 
        of such resources.
            (3) Qualitative assessment.--The term ``qualitative 
        assessment'' means a geologic-based delineation (mapping) of 
        areas permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered mineral 
        resources, based on all available geotechnical data including 
        geology, geophysics, geochemistry, remote sensing, and mineral 
        localities data.
            (4) Quantitative assessment.--The term ``quantitative 
        assessment'' means a probabilistic estimate of the quantity and 
        quality by tonnage and grade of undiscovered mineral resources 
        in areas delineated as permissive for occurrence in a 
        qualitative assessment.

SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATUTORY MINING POLICIES.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting any provision 
of or requirement under the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 
U.S.C. 21a).
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to require the 
        Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of the 
        capability of the Nation to meet our current and future demands 
        for the minerals critical to United States manufacturing and 
        agricultural competitiveness and economic and national security 
        in a time of expanding resource nationalism, and for other 
        purposes.''.
                                                 

Summary: National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011 - Declares that it is the continuing policy of the United States to promote an adequate and stable supply of minerals to maintain the nation's economic well-being, security, and manufacturing, industrial, energy, agricultural, and technological capabilities. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Geological Survey (Survey), to report to Congress: (1) an inventory of the nonfossil-fuel mineral potential of lands under BLM and US Forest Service jurisdiction. (2) an identification of all such lands that have been withdrawn, segregated, or otherwise restricted from mineral exploration and development. (3) a detailed description of the time required to process mineral applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for mineral-related activities on lands. (4) an itemized list of all use authorizations for which applications are pending. (5) an assessment of the impact of litigation on the processing or issuing of permits. (6) an assessment of the federal workforce with educational degrees and expertise in economic geology, geochemistry, mining, industrial minerals, metallurgy, metallurgical engineering, and mining engineering. And (7) an inventory of rare earth element potential on federal lands, and impediments to or restrictions on the exploration or development of those rare earth elements, with recommendations to lift the impediments or restrictions while maintaining environmental safeguards. Requires progress reports to Congress on: (1) efforts to increase access to domestic supplies of minerals, and facilitation of their production. (2) implementation of recommendations in National Research Council reports on Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the US Economy and on Managing Minerals for a Twenty-First Century Military. (3) the Department of Energy Critical Minerals Strategy I and II. And (4) a specified Department of Defense assessment and plan for critical rare earth elements in defense applications. Directs the Survey, for the first National Mineral Assessment conducted after enactment of this Act, to include mineral assessments for mineral commodities important to the nation's energy infrastructure, manufacturing and agricultural industries, and to the national defense. Urges priority be given to minerals that are critical based on the impact of a potential supply restriction and the likelihood of a supply restriction. Directs the Survey to expand the current Global Mineral Assessment to include mineral assessments for rare earth elements and other minerals that are critical based on the impact of a potential supply restriction and the likelihood of a supply restriction. Requires such assessments to include an analysis, developed with participation by the National Minerals Information Center, of the rare earth elements or other critical minerals supply chain and associated processes and products, including mining, processing, recycling, separation, metal production, alloy production, and manufacturing of products sold to end users.