II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5030 

To establish a National Critical Minerals Council within the Executive Office 

of the President to develop and coordinate the implementation of a 

national critical mineral strategy for the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a National Critical Minerals Council within the 

Executive Office of the President to develop and coordinate the implementation of a national critical mineral 

strategy for the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Critical Min5 erals Council Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERALS COUNCIL. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

2 National Critical Minerals Council established by 

3 subsection (b). 

4 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

5 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

8 (3) MINING UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘mining 

9 university’’ means an institution of higher education 

10 with a mining, metallurgical, geological, or mineral 

11 engineering program accredited by the Accreditation 

12 Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. 

13 (4) SENIOR EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIAL.— 

14 The term ‘‘senior executive branch official’’ means 

15 any officer or employee described in any of para16 graphs (3) through (8) of section 13103(f) of title 

17 5, United States Code. 

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

19 Executive Office of the President a National Critical Min20 erals Council. 

21 (c) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Council are 

22 to develop and coordinate the implementation of a national 

23 critical mineral strategy for the United States— 

24 (1) to reduce reliance on foreign adversaries for 

25 mineral imports; and 


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1 (2) to reduce single points of failure in the min2 eral supply chain of the United States. 

3 (d) STAFF.— 

4 (1) CHAIR.—The Council shall be chaired by 

5 the Vice President. 

6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall comprise 

7 such heads of executive agencies (as defined in sec8 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code) and senior 

9 executive branch officials as the President deter10 mines to be appropriate. 

11 (3) SUPPORT.— 

12 (A) CHIEF MINERALS ADVISOR.— 

13 (i) APPOINTMENT.—The President 

14 shall appoint a Chief Minerals Advisor. 

15 (ii) DUTIES.—The Chief Minerals Ad16 visor shall— 

17 (I) carry out the day-to-day oper18 ations of the Council; 

19 (II) serve as the Executive Sec20 retary of the Council; and 

21 (III) report to the Vice Presi22 dent. 

23 (B) OTHER STAFF.—In addition to the 

24 Chief Minerals Advisor, the Council may employ 


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1 not more than 5 employees to carry out the du2 ties of the Council. 

3 (e) DUTIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

5 the Council shall— 

6 (A) coordinate mining and mineral re7 search, development, deployment, and commer8 cialization funding priorities and opportunities 

9 across all Federal agencies and develop a cen10 tral platform on which the opportunities may be 

11 viewed and applications may be submitted; 

12 (B) take actions to improve the visibility of 

13 the United States as a preferred partner for 

14 critical mineral projects and agreements in 

15 comparison to foreign adversaries, including col16 laborating with non-United States entities and 

17 governments from allied nations; 

18 (C) coordinate with relevant Federal agen19 cies to consistently and proactively track invest20 ments in critical mineral and mining-related 

21 projects around the world made by the People’s 

22 Republic of China and other foreign adver23 saries, as determined by the Chief Minerals Ad24 visor; 


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1 (D) work with experts described in para2 graph (3)(A)— 

3 (i) to prioritize 5 critical minerals, as 

4 determined by the Chief Minerals Advisor, 

5 and identify the top challenges and nec6 essary interventions associated with secur7 ing stable supply chains for those 

8 prioritized critical minerals; and 

9 (ii) to expand the list of prioritized 

10 critical minerals under clause (i) to include 

11 additional critical minerals, as determined 

12 by the Chief Minerals Advisor; and 

13 (E) carry out other activities, as deter14 mined by the Chief Minerals Advisor, to fulfill 

15 the objectives described in subsection (c). 

16 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 Council identifies critical minerals for prioritization 

18 under subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1), and every 

19 year thereafter, the Chief Minerals Advisor shall 

20 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

21 Resources and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

22 of the Senate, and the Committee on Natural Re23 sources and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

24 House of Representatives, a report describing— 


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1 (A) the critical minerals selected for 

2 prioritization under that subparagraph; and 

3 (B) the top challenges and necessary inter4 ventions identified under that subparagraph. 

5 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sec6 tion, the Council may consult experts in mineral 

7 supply chains, including— 

8 (A) experts from— 

9 (i) mining universities and other insti10 tutions of higher education, including— 

11 (I) Tribal colleges; 

12 (II) historically Black colleges 

13 and universities; and 

14 (III) community colleges; 

15 (ii) National Laboratories; 

16 (iii) relevant private industries; 

17 (iv) Federal agencies; and 

18 (v) non-Federal organizations; and 

19 (B) individuals from— 

20 (i) State and local governments; and 

21 (ii) Indian Tribes (as defined in sec22 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

23 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

24 5304)). 


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1 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 

3 Congress a report that describes— 

4 (1) the composition and function of the Council; 

5 (2) a national critical mineral strategy to 

6 achieve the objectives described in subsection (c); 

7 and 

8 (3) an implementation plan that— 

9 (A) describes how represented agencies in10 tend to carry out the national critical mineral 

11 strategy; and 

12 (B) includes clear benchmarks to evaluate 

13 how the strategy and implementation plan are 

14 fulfilling the objectives described in subsection 

15 (c). 

Æ 


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