I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2637 

To promote the domestic exploration, research, development, and processing 

of critical minerals to ensure the economic and national security of 

the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2021 

Mr. WALTZ (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. LUCAS, Mr. 

WEBER of Texas, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. SESSIONS, 

Mr. BAIRD, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. GOHMERT, and Mr. 

RESCHENTHALER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on 

Science, Space, and Technology, Small Business, the Judiciary, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To promote the domestic exploration, research, development, 

and processing of critical minerals to ensure the economic and national security of 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 ‘‘American Critical Min5 eral Independence Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The assured supply of critical minerals and 

4 the resiliency of critical mineral supply chains are 

5 essential to the economic prosperity and national de6 fense of the United States. 

7 (2) The United States is heavily dependent on 

8 foreign sources of critical minerals and on foreign 

9 supply chains resulting in the potential for strategic 

10 vulnerabilities to both the economy and the military. 

11 (3) As deployment of clean energy technologies 

12 and emissions control devices increase, the demand 

13 for critical minerals will grow significantly. 

14 (4) The United States is import-reliant for 30 

15 of the 35 minerals designated as critical by the De16 partment of the Interior and relies completely on im17 ports to meet demand for 13 of these minerals. 

18 (5) Over the past two decades China has pro19 duced more than 80 percent of the world’s rare20 earth elements and processed chemicals and has had 

21 similar supply control over other critical minerals. 

22 (6) China’s projected total metals demand 

23 growth rate suggests that within a decade China’s 

24 total annual metals demand will increase from to25 day’s 55% to more than 75% of the total world pro26 duction of all metals. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that to break from China’s control on the mineral 

3 supply chain, the United States should support significant 

4 research and development activities to drive innovation in 

5 domestic critical minerals production, promote responsible 

6 development of critical minerals, and encourage inter7 national collaboration to limit the impact of mineral sup8 ply disruptions. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) BYPRODUCT.—The term ‘‘byproduct’’ has 

12 the meaning given such term in section 7002 of Di13 vision Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

14 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 

15 (2) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘‘critical 

16 mineral’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

17 7002 of Division Z of the Consolidated Appropria18 tions Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) except that 

19 such term shall not exclude materials described in 

20 subsection (a)(3)(B)(iii) of such section. 

21 (3) CRITICAL MINERAL PROJECT.—The term 

22 ‘‘critical mineral project’’ means a project— 

23 (A) located on— 

24 (i) a mining claim, millsite claim, or 

25 tunnel site claim for any locatable mineral; 


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1 (ii) lands open to mineral entry; or 

2 (iii) a Federal mineral lease; and 

3 (B) for the purpose of producing a critical 

4 mineral, including— 

5 (i) as a byproduct, or a product of a 

6 host mineral, or from tailings; or 

7 (ii) through an exploration project 

8 with respect to which the presence of a by9 product is a reasonable expectation, based 

10 on known mineral companionality, geologic 

11 formation, mineralogy, or other factors. 

12 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

13 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

14 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

15 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

19 (A) a State; 

20 (B) the District of Columbia; 

21 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

22 (D) Guam; 

23 (E) American Samoa; 

24 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

25 Mariana Islands; and 


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1 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 

2 (7) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 

3 means the agency with primary responsibility for 

4 issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit for a 

5 project. 

6 (8) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PER7 MIT.—The term ‘‘mineral exploration or mine per8 mit’’ means— 

9 (A) an authorization of the Bureau of 

10 Land Management or the Forest Service, as ap11 plicable, for a premining activity that requires 

12 analysis under the National Environmental Pol13 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

14 (B) a plan of operations issued by the Bu15 reau of Land Management or the Forest Serv16 ice; and 

17 (C) a permit for a project located in an 

18 area for which a hardrock mineral permit or 

19 lease is available. 

20 TITLE I—CRITICAL MINERALS 

21 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

22 SEC. 101. CRITICAL MINERALS INTERAGENCY SUB23 COMMITTEE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Critical Minerals Sub25 committee of the National Science and Technology Council 


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1 (referred to in this section as ‘‘Subcommittee’’) shall co2 ordinate Federal science and technology efforts to ensure 

3 secure and reliable supplies of critical minerals to the 

4 United States. 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Subcommittee 

6 shall be— 

7 (1) to advise and assist the Committee on 

8 Homeland and National Security and the National 

9 Science and Technology Council on United States 

10 policies, procedures, and plans as it relates to crit11 ical minerals, including— 

12 (A) Federal research, development, and de13 ployment efforts to optimize methods for ex14 tractions, concentration, separation, and purifi15 cation of conventional, secondary, and uncon16 ventional sources of critical minerals; 

17 (B) efficient use and reuse of critical min18 erals; 

19 (C) the critical minerals workforce of the 

20 United States; and 

21 (D) United States private industry invest22 ments in innovation and technology transfer 

23 from federally funded science and technology; 

24 (2) to identify emerging opportunities, stimu25 late international cooperation, and foster the develVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2637.IH H2637

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1 opment of secure and reliable supply chains of crit2 ical minerals; 

3 (3) to ensure the transparency of information 

4 and data related to critical minerals; and 

5 (4) to provide recommendations on coordination 

6 and collaboration among the research, development, 

7 and deployment programs and activities of Federal 

8 agencies to promote a secure and reliable supply of 

9 critical minerals necessary to maintain national se10 curity, economic well-being, and industrial produc11 tion. 

12 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out paragraphs 

13 (1) and (2), the Subcommittee shall, taking into account 

14 the findings and recommendations of relevant advisory 

15 committees— 

16 (1) provide recommendations on how Federal 

17 agencies may improve the topographic, geologic, and 

18 geophysical mapping of the United States and im19 prove the discoverability, accessibility, and usability 

20 of the resulting and existing data, to the extent per21 mitted by law and subject to appropriate limitation 

22 for purposes of privacy and security; assess the 

23 progress towards developing critical minerals recy24 cling and reprocessing technologies, and techno25 logical alternatives to critical minerals; 


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1 (2) examine options and provide recommenda2 tions for accessing and developing critical minerals 

3 through investment and trade with allies and part4 ners of the United States; 

5 (3) evaluate and provide recommendations to 

6 incentivize the development and use of advances in 

7 science and technology in the private industry; 

8 (4) assess the need for, and make recommenda9 tions to address, the challenges facing the critical 

10 minerals supply chain workforce of the United 

11 States, including aging and retiring personnel and 

12 faculty; public perceptions about the nature of min13 ing and mineral processing; and foreign competition 

14 for United States talent; and 

15 (5) develop, and update as necessary, a stra16 tegic plan to guide Federal programs and activities 

17 to enhance scientific and technical capabilities across 

18 critical mineral supply chains, including a roadmap 

19 that identifies key research and development needs 

20 and coordinates ongoing activities for source diver21 sification, more efficient use, recycling, and substi22 tution for critical minerals; as well as cross-cutting 

23 mining science, data science techniques, manufac24 turing science and engineering, computational modVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2637.IH H2637

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1 eling, and environmental health and safety research 

2 and development. 

3 SEC. 102. CRITICAL MINERALS MINING RESEARCH AND DE4 VELOPMENT AT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE 

5 FOUNDATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

7 Science Foundation shall award grants, on a competitive 

8 basis, to institutions of higher education or nonprofit orga9 nizations (or consortium of such institutions or organiza10 tions) to support basic research that will accelerate inno11 vation to advance critical minerals mining strategies and 

12 technologies for the purpose of making better use of do13 mestic resources and eliminating national reliance on min14 erals and mineral materials that are subject to supply dis15 ruptions. 

16 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities funded by a grant 

17 under this section may include— 

18 (1) advancing mining research and development 

19 activities to develop new mapping and mining tech20 nologies and techniques, including advanced critical 

21 mineral extraction and production, to improve exist22 ing or to develop new supply chains of critical min23 erals and to yield more efficient, economical, and en24 vironmentally benign mining practices; 


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1 (2) advancing critical mineral processing re2 search activities to improve separation, alloying, 

3 manufacturing or recycling techniques and tech4 nologies that can decrease the energy intensity, 

5 waste, potential environmental impact and costs of 

6 those activities; 

7 (3) conducting long-term earth observatory of 

8 reclaimed mine sites, including the study of the evo9 lution of microbial diversity at such sites; 

10 (4) examining the application of artificial intel11 ligence for geological exploration of critical minerals, 

12 including what size and diversity of data sets would 

13 be required; 

14 (5) examining the application of machine learn15 ing for detection and sorting of critical minerals, 

16 and determining the size and diversity of data sets 

17 required for this analysis; 

18 (6) conducting detailed isotope studies of crit19 ical minerals and the development of more refined 

20 geologic models; and 

21 (7) providing training and researcher opportu22 nities to undergraduate and graduate students to 

23 prepare the next generation of mining engineers and 

24 researchers. 


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1 SEC. 103. RARE EARTH ELEMENTS AND CRITICAL MIN2 ERALS PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES. 

3 (a) RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR THE RECOVERY OF

4 CRITICAL MINERALS FROM VARIOUS FORMS OF MINE

5 WASTE AND METALLURGICAL ACTIVITIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in 

7 consultation with the Secretary, acting through the 

8 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforce9 ment Applied Science Program, shall carry out a 

10 grant program— 

11 (A) to research, develop, and assess ad12 vanced processing technologies and techniques 

13 for the extraction, recovery, and reduction of 

14 critical minerals, including rare earth elements, 

15 from various forms of mine waste and metallur16 gical activities, including mine waste piles, 

17 abandoned mine land sites, acid mine drainage 

18 sludge, byproducts produced through legacy 

19 mining and metallurgy activities, or oil shale; 

20 and 

21 (B) to determine if there are, and mitigate 

22 if present, any potential environmental impacts 

23 that could arise from the recovery of critical 

24 minerals from these resources. 

25 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— To 

26 carry out the program under paragraph (1) there is 


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1 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

2 Energy $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

3 through 2026, and to the Secretary of the Interior 

4 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

5 2026. 

6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in con8 sultation with the Secretary, shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

10 and the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee 

11 on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee 

12 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

13 a report evaluating the research and development of ad14 vanced processing technologies for the extraction, recov15 ery, and reduction of critical minerals, including rare 

16 earth elements, from mine waste piles, acid mine drainage 

17 sludge, byproducts produced through legacy mining and 

18 metallurgy activities, or oil shale. 

19 TITLE II—CRITICAL MINERAL 

20 DEVELOPMENT AND TECH21 NOLOGY SUPPORT 

22 SEC. 201. PERMITTING. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that— 


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1 (1) critical minerals are fundamental to the 

2 economy, competitiveness, and security of the United 

3 States; 

4 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the crit5 ical mineral needs of the United States should be 

6 satisfied by minerals, elements, substances, and ma7 terials responsibly produced and recycled in the 

8 United States; and 

9 (3) the current Federal permitting process is an 

10 impediment to mineral production and the mineral 

11 security of the United States. 

12 (b) COORDINATION ON PERMITTING PROCESS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta14 tion with appropriate Federal agencies, shall, to the 

15 maximum extent practicable, with respect to the 

16 Federal permitting and review process for critical 

17 mineral projects on Federal land— 

18 (A) establish and adhere to timelines and 

19 schedules for the consideration of, and final de20 cisions regarding, applications, operating plans, 

21 leases, licenses, permits, and other use author22 izations for mineral-related activities on Federal 

23 land; 


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1 (B) establish clear, quantifiable, and tem2 poral permitting performance goals and track3 ing progress against those goals; 

4 (C) engage in early collaboration among 

5 agencies, project sponsors, and affected stake6 holders— 

7 (i) to incorporate and address the in8 terests of each such agency, sponsor, and 

9 stakeholder; and 

10 (ii) to minimize delays; 

11 (D) ensure transparency and accountability 

12 by using cost-effective information technology to 

13 collect and disseminate information regarding 

14 individual critical mineral projects and agency 

15 performance; 

16 (E) engage in early and active consultation 

17 with State and local governments and Indian 

18 Tribes to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort, 

19 resolve concerns, and allow for concurrent, 

20 rather than sequential, State, local, Tribal, and 

21 Federal environmental and regulatory reviews; 

22 (F) meet or exceed the performance 

23 metrics required by subsection (g); 


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1 (G) expand and institutionalize permitting 

2 and review process improvements that have 

3 proven effective; 

4 (H) develop mechanisms to better commu5 nicate priorities and resolve disputes among 

6 agencies at the national, regional, State, and 

7 local levels; and 

8 (I) develop other practices to improve the 

9 regulatory processes, such as preapplication 

10 procedures. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out para12 graph (1), the lead agency shall consider deferring 

13 to, and relying on, baseline data, analyses, and re14 views performed by State agencies with jurisdiction 

15 over the proposed critical mineral project. 

16 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The lead 

17 agency with respect to a critical mineral project on 

18 Federal land, in consultation with any other Federal 

19 agency with jurisdiction over such project, shall, 

20 upon request of the project sponsor, a State or local 

21 government, an Indian Tribe, or other entity such 

22 lead agency determines appropriate, establish a 

23 memorandum of agreement with the project sponsor, 

24 a State or local government, an Indian Tribe, or an25 other entity such lead agency determines appropriate 


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1 to carry out the activities described in this sub2 section. 

3 (4) TIME LIMIT FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.— 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and ex5 cept with agreement of the project sponsor, the total 

6 period for all necessary Federal reviews and permit 

7 consideration for a critical mineral project on Fed8 eral land reasonably expected to produce critical 

9 minerals may not exceed— 

10 (A) with respect to a project that requires 

11 an environmental assessment under section 

12 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 

13 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), 18 

14 months; or 

15 (B) with respect to a project that requires 

16 an environmental impact statement under such 

17 section, 24 months. 

18 (c) DETERMINATION UNDER NATIONAL ENVIRON19 MENTAL POLICY ACT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that the Na21 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4321 et seq.) applies to the issuance of any mineral 

23 exploration or mine permit relating to a critical min24 eral project, the lead agency may deem the require25 ments of such Act satisfied if the lead agency deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2637.IH H2637

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1 mines that a State or Federal agency acting under 

2 State or Federal law has addressed the following 

3 factors: 

4 (A) The environmental impact of the ac5 tion to be conducted under the permit. 

6 (B) Possible alternatives to issuance of the 

7 permit. 

8 (C) The relationship between long- and 

9 short-term uses of the local environment and 

10 the maintenance and enhancement of long-term 

11 productivity. 

12 (D) Any irreversible and irretrievable com13 mitment of resources that would be involved in 

14 the proposed action. 

15 (2) PUBLICATION.—The lead agency shall pub16 lish a determination under paragraph (1) not later 

17 than 90 days after receipt of an application for the 

18 permit. 

19 (3) VERIFICATION.—The lead agency shall pub20 lish a determination that the factors under para21 graph (1) have been sufficiently addressed and pub22 lic participation has occurred with regard to any au23 thorizing actions before issuing any mineral explo24 ration or mine permit for a critical mineral project. 


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1 (d) SCHEDULE FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—For 

2 any critical mineral project for which the lead agency can3 not make the determination described in subsection (c), 

4 at the request of a project sponsor, the lead agency, co5 operating agencies, and any other agencies involved with 

6 the mineral exploration or mine permitting process shall 

7 enter into an agreement with the project sponsor that sets 

8 time limits for each part of the permitting process, includ9 ing— 

10 (1) the decision on whether to prepare an envi11 ronmental impact statement or similar analysis re12 quired under the National Environmental Policy Act 

13 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

14 (2) a determination of the scope of any environ15 mental impact statement or similar analysis required 

16 under such Act; 

17 (3) the scope of, and schedule for, the baseline 

18 studies required to prepare an environmental impact 

19 statement or similar analysis required under such 

20 Act; 

21 (4) preparation of any draft environmental im22 pact statement or similar analysis required under 

23 such Act; 


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1 (5) preparation of a final environmental impact 

2 statement or similar analysis required under such 

3 Act; 

4 (6) any consultations required under applicable 

5 law; 

6 (7) submission and review of any comments re7 quired under applicable law; 

8 (8) publication of any public notices required 

9 under applicable law; and 

10 (9) any final or interim decisions. 

11 (e) ADDRESSING PUBLIC COMMENTS.—As part of 

12 the review process of a critical mineral project under the 

13 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

14 4321 et seq.), the lead agency may not address any agency 

15 or public comments that were not submitted— 

16 (1) during a public comment period or consulta17 tion period provided during the permitting process; 

18 or 

19 (2) as otherwise required by law. 

20 (f) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and 

22 the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a 

23 report that— 

24 (1) identifies additional measures (including 

25 regulatory and legislative proposals, as appropriate) 


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1 that would increase the timeliness of permitting ac2 tivities for the exploration and development of do3 mestic critical minerals; 

4 (2) identifies options (including cost recovery 

5 paid by permit applicants, as appropriate) for ensur6 ing adequate staffing and training of Federal enti7 ties and personnel responsible for the consideration 

8 of applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, per9 mits, and other use authorizations for critical min10 eral projects on Federal land; 

11 (3) quantifies the amount of time typically re12 quired (including a range derived from minimum 

13 and maximum durations, mean, median, variance, 

14 and any other statistical measure or representation 

15 the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture de16 termine appropriate) to complete each step (includ17 ing those aspects outside the control of the executive 

18 branch, such as judicial review, applicant decisions, 

19 or State and local government involvement) associ20 ated with the development and processing of applica21 tions, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 

22 other use authorizations for a mineral exploration or 

23 mine permit for a critical mineral project; and 

24 (4) describes actions carried out pursuant to 

25 subsection (b). 


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1 (g) PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of submission of the report under subsection 

3 (f), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, after 

4 providing public notice and an opportunity to comment, 

5 shall develop and publish a performance metric for evalu6 ating the progress made by the executive branch to expe7 dite the permitting of critical mineral projects. 

8 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning with the first 

9 budget submission by the President under section 1105 

10 of title 31, United States Code, after publication of the 

11 performance metric required under subsection (g), and an12 nually thereafter, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agri13 culture shall jointly submit to Congress a report that— 

14 (1) summarizes the implementation of rec15 ommendations, measures, and options identified in 

16 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (f); 

17 (2) using the performance metric under sub18 section (g), describes progress made by the executive 

19 branch, as compared to the baseline established pur20 suant to subsection (d)(3), on expediting the permit21 ting of activities that will increase exploration for, 

22 and development of, domestic critical minerals; and 

23 (3) compares the United States to other coun24 tries in terms of permitting efficiency and any other 


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1 criteria relevant to the globally competitive critical 

2 minerals industry. 

3 (i) INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—Using data from the 

4 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary generated 

5 under subsection (h), the Director of the Office of Man6 agement and Budget shall prioritize inclusion of individual 

7 critical mineral projects on the website operated by the 

8 Office of Management and Budget in accordance with sec9 tion 1122 of title 31, United States Code. 

10 (j) REPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA11 TION.—Not later than 1 year and 300 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 

13 Business Administration shall submit to the Committees 

14 on Small Business and Natural Resources of the House 

15 of Representatives and Small Business and Entrepreneur16 ship and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 

17 report that assesses the performance of Federal agencies 

18 with respect to— 

19 (1) complying with chapter 6 of title 5, United 

20 States Code, in promulgating regulations applicable 

21 to the critical minerals industry; and 

22 (2) performing an analysis of regulations appli23 cable to the critical minerals industry that may be 

24 outmoded, inefficient, duplicative, or excessively bur25 densome. 


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1 SEC. 202. TECHNOLOGY GRANTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

3 with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish a competitive 

4 grant program to conduct studies, research, and dem5 onstration projects relating to the production of critical 

6 minerals, including— 

7 (1) studies of mining, mineral extraction effi8 ciency, and related processing technology; 

9 (2) reclamation technology and practices for ac10 tive mining operations; 

11 (3) the development of remining systems and 

12 technologies that facilitate reclamation that fosters 

13 the recovery of resources at abandoned mine sites; 

14 (4) investigations of critical mineral extraction 

15 methods that reduce environmental and human im16 pacts; 

17 (5) reducing dependence on foreign energy and 

18 mineral supplies through increased domestic critical 

19 mineral production; 

20 (6) enhancing the competitiveness of United 

21 States energy and mineral technology exports; 

22 (7) the extraction or processing of coinciding 

23 mineralization, including rare earth elements, within 

24 coal, coal processing byproduct, overburden or coal 

25 residue; 


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1 (8) enhancing technologies and practices related 

2 to mitigation of acid mine drainage, reforestation, 

3 and revegetation in the reclamation of land and 

4 water resources adversely affected by mining; 

5 (9) meeting challenges of extreme mining condi6 tions, such as deeper deposits or offshore or cold re7 gion mining; and 

8 (10) mineral economics, including analysis of 

9 supply chains, future mineral needs, and unconven10 tional mining resources. 

11 (b) MINIMUM AMOUNT FOR MINING SCHOOLS.—Of 

12 amounts expended pursuant to this section, not less than 

13 70 percent shall be expended to enhance and support min14 ing and mineral engineering programs at mining schools 

15 in the United States. 

16 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall 

17 consult with relevant stakeholders and provide a signifi18 cant opportunity for participation by undergraduate and 

19 graduate students at mining schools. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

22 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2032. 

23 (e) MINING SCHOOL.—In this section, the term ‘‘min24 ing school’’ means a mining, metallurgical, or mineral en25 gineering program or department accredited by the AcVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2637.IH H2637

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1 creditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., 

2 that is located at an institution of higher education (as 

3 that term is defined in section 631(a) of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1132(a))) in the United 

5 States. 

6 SEC. 203. ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYSIS. 

7 (a) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED.—Federal 

8 lands and waters may not be withdrawn from entry under 

9 the mining laws or operation of the mineral leasing and 

10 mineral materials laws unless a quantitative and quali11 tative geophysical and geological mineral resource assess12 ment of the impacted area has been completed during the 

13 10-year period ending on the date of such withdrawal or 

14 has been certified as current by the Director of the United 

15 States Geological Survey. 

16 (b) NEW INFORMATION.—If a resource assessment 

17 completed by the Director of the United States Geological 

18 Survey shows that a previously undiscovered deposit is 

19 likely present in an area that has been withdrawn from 

20 entry under the mining laws or operation of the mineral 

21 leasing and mineral materials laws pursuant to— 

22 (1) section 204 of the Federal Land Policy and 

23 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714), the 

24 Secretary shall update the existing Resource Man25 agement Plan for such area; or 


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1 (2) chapter 3203 of title 54, United States 

2 Code, the Secretary shall provide recommendations 

3 to the President on appropriate measures to reduce 

4 unnecessary impacts that the withdrawal may have 

5 on critical mineral exploration, development, and 

6 other mining activities. 

7 (c) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Before a re8 source management plan under the Federal Land Policy 

9 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) 

10 is updated or completed, the Secretary or Secretary of Ag11 riculture, as applicable, shall, in consultation with the Di12 rector of the United States Geological Survey— 

13 (1) review a quantitative and qualitative min14 eral resource assessment that was completed or up15 dated during the 10-year period ending on the date 

16 the resource management plan is updated or com17 pleted or is certified as current by the Director of 

18 the United States Geological Survey for the geo19 graphic area affected by the resource management 

20 plan; and 

21 (2) in consultation with the Departments of 

22 Commerce and Defense, consider the economic, stra23 tegic and national security value of mineral deposits 

24 in the impacted geographic area affected by the re25 source management plan. 


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•HR 2637 IH

1 (d) PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED DEPOSIT.—In this 

2 section, the term ‘‘previously undiscovered deposit’’ means 

3 a deposit that has been previously evaluated by the United 

4 States Geological Survey and found to be of low mineral 

5 potential but upon subsequent evaluation is determined to 

6 have recoverable quantities of a critical mineral. 

7 SEC. 204. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL. 

8 (a) MORATORIA.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, the Secretary may not declare a moratorium 

10 on issuing leases, claims, or permits on Federal lands, in11 cluding on the Outer Continental Shelf, for the mining of 

12 critical minerals, or related activities unless such morato13 rium is authorized by an Act of Congress. 

14 (b) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, the Secretary may not withdraw Federal lands 

16 and waters from entry under the mining laws or operation 

17 of the mineral leasing and mineral materials laws for the 

18 mining of critical minerals without congressional approval 

19 if such withdrawal— 

20 (1) exceeds 5,000 acres in a single withdrawal; 

21 or 

22 (2) is of a parcel the exterior boundary of which 

23 is less than 50 miles away from the exterior bound24 ary of another parcel that was withdrawn during the 


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•HR 2637 IH

1 1-year period ending on the date of withdrawal of 

2 the parcel at issue. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS