I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7061 

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 

MAY 28, 2020 

Mr. WALTZ (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. LUCAS, Mr. 

MCCARTHY, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. 

MARSHALL, Mr. BUCK, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. 

POSEY, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. BABIN, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mr. OLSON, Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma, Mr. NORMAN, 

Mr. STAUBER, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. WITTMAN, Ms. CHENEY, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. STEWART, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. 

COOK, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. EMMER, Mr. AMODEI, 

Mr. FULCHER, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. CALVERT, and Mr. DUNCAN) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation 

4 Act of 2020’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CRITICAL MINERAL PRODUCTION 

Sec. 101. Policy. 

Sec. 102. Critical mineral designations. 

Sec. 103. Resource assessment. 

Sec. 104. Permitting. 

Sec. 105. Federal Register process. 

Sec. 106. Department of Energy Critical Minerals Research and Development 

Program. 

Sec. 107. Critical minerals research database. 

Sec. 108. Analysis and forecasting. 

Sec. 109. Education and workforce. 

Sec. 110. National geological and geophysical data preservation program. 

Sec. 111. Administration. 

TITLE II—CRITICAL MINERALS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT 

SUPPORT 

Sec. 201. Technology grants. 

TITLE III—MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL MINERAL RESOURCES 

Sec. 301. Economic and national security analysis. 

Sec. 302. Congressional approval. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) BYPRODUCT.—The term ‘‘byproduct’’ 

10 means a critical mineral— 

11 (A) the recovery of which depends on the 

12 production of a host mineral that is not des13 ignated as a critical mineral; and 


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1 (B) that exists in sufficient quantities to 

2 be recovered during processing or refining. 

3 (2) CRITICAL MINERAL.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘critical min5 eral’’ means any mineral, element, substance, or 

6 material designated as critical by the Secretary 

7 under section 102. 

8 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘critical 

9 mineral’’ does not include— 

10 (i) oil, natural gas, or any other fossil 

11 fuels; or 

12 (ii) water, ice, or snow. 

13 (3) CRITICAL MINERAL MANUFACTURING.—The 

14 term ‘‘critical mineral manufacturing’’ means— 

15 (A) the exploration, development, mining, 

16 production, processing, refining, alloying, sepa17 ration, concentration, magnetic sintering, melt18 ing, or beneficiation of critical minerals within 

19 the United States; 

20 (B) the fabrication, assembly, or produc21 tion using a critical mineral, within the United 

22 States, of equipment, components, or other 

23 goods with energy technology-, defense-, agri24 culture-, consumer electronics-, or health care25 related applications; or 


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1 (C) any other value-added, manufacturing2 related use of critical minerals undertaken with3 in the United States. 

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

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

11 (A) a State; 

12 (B) the District of Columbia; 

13 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

14 (D) Guam; 

15 (E) American Samoa; 

16 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

17 Mariana Islands; and 

18 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 

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

20 means the agency with primary responsibility for 

21 issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit for a 

22 project. 

23 (8) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PER24 MIT.—The term ‘‘mineral exploration or mine per25 mit’’ means— 


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1 (A) an authorization of the Bureau of 

2 Land Management or the Forest Service, as ap3 plicable, for a premining activity that requires 

4 analysis under the National Environmental Pol5 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

6 (B) a plan of operations issued by— 

7 (i) the Bureau of Land Management 

8 under subpart 3809 of part 3800 of title 

9 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc10 cessor regulations); or 

11 (ii) the Forest Service under subpart 

12 A of part 228 of title 36, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations (or successor regulations); or 

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

15 area described in section 3503.13 of title 43, 

16 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu17 lations). 

18 (9) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

19 project relating to, or incidental to mineral explo20 ration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or reclama21 tion activities— 

22 (A) on a mining claim, millsite claim, or 

23 tunnel site claim for any locatable mineral; or 


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1 (B) in conjunction with any Federal min2 eral (other than coal and oil shale) that is 

3 leased under— 

4 (i) the Mineral Leasing Act for Ac5 quired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); or 

6 (ii) section 402 of Reorganization 

7 Plan Numbered 3 of 1946 (5 U.S.C. 

8 App.). 

9 TITLE I—CRITICAL MINERAL 

10 PRODUCTION 

11 SEC. 101. POLICY. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress finds the fol13 lowing: 

14 (1) The assured supply of critical minerals and 

15 the resiliency of their supply chains are essential to 

16 the economic prosperity and national defense of the 

17 United States. 

18 (2) The United States is heavily dependent on 

19 foreign sources of critical minerals and on foreign 

20 supply chains resulting in the potential for strategic 

21 vulnerabilities to both the economy and the military. 

22 (3) As deployment of clean energy technologies 

23 and emissions control devices increase, the demand 

24 for critical minerals will grow significantly. 


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1 (4) The United States is import-reliant for 31 

2 of the 35 minerals designated as critical by the De3 partment of the Interior and relies completely on im4 ports to supply its demand for 14 of these minerals. 

5 (5) Over the past two decades China has pro6 duced more than 80 percent of the world’s produc7 tion of rare-earth elements and processed chemicals. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that to break from China’s control on the mineral 

10 supply chain, the United States should support significant 

11 research and development activities to drive innovation in 

12 domestic critical minerals production, promote responsible 

13 development of critical minerals, and encourage inter14 national collaboration to limit the impact of mineral sup15 ply disruptions. 

16 (c) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National Mate17 rials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act 

18 of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1602) is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(3) establish an analytical and forecasting ca22 pability for identifying critical mineral demand, sup23 ply, and other factors to allow informed actions to 

24 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price 


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1 volatility, and prepare for demand growth and other 

2 market shifts;’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

4 end; and 

5 (3) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(7) facilitate the availability, development, and 

8 environmentally responsible production of domestic 

9 resources to meet national material or critical min10 eral needs; 

11 ‘‘(8) avoid duplication of effort, prevent unnec12 essary paperwork, and minimize delays in the ad13 ministration of applicable laws (including regula14 tions) and the issuance of permits and authoriza15 tions necessary to explore for, develop, and produce 

16 critical minerals and to construct critical mineral 

17 manufacturing facilities in accordance with applica18 ble environmental and land management laws; 

19 ‘‘(9) strengthen— 

20 ‘‘(A) educational and research capabilities 

21 at not lower than the secondary school level; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) workforce training for exploration 

24 and development of critical minerals and critical 

25 mineral manufacturing; 


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1 ‘‘(10) bolster international cooperation through 

2 technology transfer, information sharing, and other 

3 means; 

4 ‘‘(11) promote the efficient production, use, and 

5 recycling of critical minerals; 

6 ‘‘(12) develop alternatives to critical minerals; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(13) establish contingencies for the production 

9 of, or access to, critical minerals for which viable 

10 sources do not exist within the United States.’’. 

11 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2(b) of the 

12 National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and De13 velopment Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601(b)) is amended 

14 to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

16 ‘‘(1) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘critical 

17 mineral’ has the meaning given such term in section 

18 2 of the American Critical Mineral Exploration and 

19 Innovation Act of 2020. 

20 ‘‘(2) MATERIALS.—The term ‘materials’ means 

21 substances, including minerals, of current or poten22 tial use that will be needed to supply the industrial, 

23 military, and essential civilian needs of the United 

24 States in the production of goods or services, includ25 ing those which are primarily imported or for which 


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1 there is a prospect of shortages or uncertain supply, 

2 or which present opportunities in terms of new phys3 ical properties, use, recycling, disposal or substi4 tution, with the exclusion of food and of energy fuels 

5 used as such.’’. 

6 (e) CRITICAL MINERALS INTERAGENCY SUB7 COMMITTEE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Critical Minerals Sub9 committee of the National Science and Technology 

10 Council (referred to in this section as ‘‘Sub11 committee’’) shall coordinate Federal science and 

12 technology efforts to ensure secure and reliable sup13 plies of critical minerals to the United States. 

14 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Sub15 committee shall be— 

16 (A) to advise and assist the Committee on 

17 Homeland and National Security and the Na18 tional Science and Technology Council on 

19 United States policies, procedures, and plans as 

20 it relates to critical minerals, including— 

21 (i) Federal research, development, and 

22 deployment efforts to optimize methods for 

23 extractions, concentration, separation and 

24 purification of conventional, secondary, 


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1 and unconventional sources of critical min2 erals; 

3 (ii) efficient use and reuse of critical 

4 minerals; 

5 (iii) the critical minerals workforce of 

6 the United States; and 

7 (iv) United States private industry in8 vestments in innovation and technology 

9 transfer from federally funded science and 

10 technology; 

11 (B) to identify emerging opportunities, 

12 stimulate international cooperation, and foster 

13 the development of secure and reliable supply 

14 chains of critical minerals; 

15 (C) to ensure the transparency of informa16 tion and data related to critical minerals; and 

17 (D) to provide recommendations on coordi18 nation and collaboration among the research, 

19 development, and deployment programs and ac20 tivities of Federal agencies to promote a secure 

21 and reliable supply of critical minerals nec22 essary to maintain national security, economic 

23 well-being, and industrial production. 

24 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out para25 graphs (1) and (2), the Subcommittee may, taking 


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1 into account the findings and recommendations of 

2 relevant advisory committees— 

3 (A) provide recommendations on how Fed4 eral agencies may improve the topographic, geo5 logic, and geophysical mapping of the United 

6 States and improve the discoverability, accessi7 bility, and usability of the resulting and existing 

8 data, to the extent permitted by law and subject 

9 to appropriate limitation for purposes of privacy 

10 and security; assess the progress towards devel11 oping critical minerals recycling and reprocess12 ing technologies, and technological alternatives 

13 to critical minerals; 

14 (B) examine options for accessing and de15 veloping critical minerals through investment 

16 and trade with our allies and partners and pro17 vide recommendations; 

18 (C) evaluate and provide recommendations 

19 to incentivize the development and use of ad20 vances in science and technology in the private 

21 industry; 

22 (D) assess the need for and make rec23 ommendations to address the challenges the 

24 United States critical minerals supply chain 

25 workforce faces, including aging and retiring 


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1 personnel and faculty; public perceptions about 

2 the nature of mining and mineral processing; 

3 and foreign competition for United States tal4 ent; 

5 (E) develop, and update as necessary, a 

6 strategic plan to guide Federal programs and 

7 activities to enhance scientific and technical ca8 pabilities across critical mineral supply chains, 

9 including a roadmap that identifies key re10 search and development needs and coordinates 

11 ongoing activities for source diversification, 

12 more efficient use, recycling, and substitution 

13 for critical minerals; as well as cross-cutting 

14 mining science, data science techniques, mate15 rials science, manufacturing science and engi16 neering, computational modeling, and environ17 mental health and safety research and develop18 ment; and 

19 (F) report to the appropriate committees 

20 of Congress on activities and findings under 

21 this section. 

22 SEC. 102. CRITICAL MINERAL DESIGNATIONS. 

23 (a) DRAFT.—The Secretary, acting through the Di24 rector of the United States Geological Survey, shall pub25 lish in the Federal Register for public comment a draft— 


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1 (1) description of the methodology used to iden2 tify critical minerals; 

3 (2) list of minerals, elements, substances, and 

4 materials that qualify as critical minerals; and 

5 (3) list of critical minerals recoverable as by6 products. 

7 (b) FINAL.—Not later than 45 days after the date 

8 on which the public comment period described in para9 graph (1) ends, the Secretary, acting through the Director 

10 of the United States Geological Survey, shall publish in 

11 the Federal Register— 

12 (1) a description of the methodology for deter13 mining which minerals, elements, substances, and 

14 materials qualify as critical minerals; 

15 (2) a list of critical minerals; and 

16 (3) a list of critical minerals recoverable as by17 products. 

18 (c) CRITERIA.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall des20 ignate a mineral, element, substance, or material as 

21 a critical mineral for the purposes of this subsection 

22 if the Secretary determines, in consultation with the 

23 Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, Agriculture, and 

24 Energy, and the United States Trade Representative 

25 that— 


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1 (A) such mineral, element, substance, or 

2 material is essential to the economic or national 

3 security of the United States; 

4 (B) the supply chain of such mineral, ele5 ment, substance, or material is vulnerable to 

6 disruption (including restrictions associated 

7 with foreign political risk, abrupt demand 

8 growth, military conflict, violent unrest, anti9 competitive or protectionist behaviors, and other 

10 risks throughout the supply chain); and 

11 (C) such mineral, element, substance, or 

12 material serves an essential function in the 

13 manufacturing of a product (including energy 

14 technology-, defense-, currency-, agriculture-, 

15 consumer electronics-, and health care-related 

16 applications), the absence of which would have 

17 significant consequences for the economic or na18 tional security of the United States. 

19 (2) DETERMINATION BY ANOTHER AGENCY.— 

20 The Secretary may designate a mineral, element, 

21 substance, or material determined by another Fed22 eral agency to be strategic and critical to the defense 

23 or national security of the United States. 

24 (d) SUBSEQUENT REVIEW.—The Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, AgVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7061.IH H7061

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1 riculture, and Energy and the United States Trade Rep2 resentative, shall review the methodology and list under 

3 subsection (b) not less frequently than every 3 years and 

4 may revise such determinations as the Secretary, in con5 sultation with Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, Agri6 culture, and Energy and the United States Trade Rep7 resentative, determines appropriate. 

8 (e) QUANTITATIVE DATA.—The Secretary, in making 

9 a determination under this subsection, shall to the extent 

10 possible, use quantitative methods to make such deter11 mination. 

12 (f) NOTICE.—On finalization of the methodology and 

13 the list under subsection (b), or any revision to the meth14 odology or list under subsection (d), the Secretary shall 

15 submit to Congress written notice of the action. 

16 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

18 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030 

19 to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 103. RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, in consultation with applica23 ble States, State geological surveys, local governments and 

24 academic, industry, and other entities, the Secretary shall 


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1 complete a comprehensive national resource assessment of 

2 each critical mineral that— 

3 (1) identifies and quantifies known critical min4 eral resources, using all available public and private 

5 information and datasets, including exploration his6 tories; and 

7 (2) provides a quantitative and qualitative as8 sessment of undiscovered critical mineral resources 

9 throughout the United States, including probability 

10 estimates of tonnage and grade, using all available 

11 public and private information and datasets, includ12 ing exploration histories. 

13 (b) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.—In carrying 

14 out this section, the Secretary shall carry out surveys and 

15 field work (including drilling, remote sensing, geophysical 

16 surveys, topographical and geological mapping, and geo17 chemical sampling and analysis) to supplement existing in18 formation and datasets available for determining the exist19 ence of critical minerals in the United States. 

20 (c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Subject to applicable law, to 

21 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall make 

22 all data and metadata collected from the comprehensive 

23 national assessment carried out under subsection (a) pub24 licly and electronically accessible. 


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1 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the 

2 Governor of a State or the head of an Indian tribe, the 

3 Secretary may provide technical assistance to State gov4 ernments and Indian tribes conducting critical mineral re5 source assessments on non-Federal land. 

6 (e) PRIORITIZATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may sequence 

8 the completion of resource assessments for each crit9 ical mineral such that critical minerals considered to 

10 be most critical under the methodology established 

11 under section 102 are completed first. 

12 (2) INTERIM REPORTS.—During the period be13 ginning not later than 1 year after the date of enact14 ment of this Act and ending on the date of comple15 tion of all of the assessments required under this 

16 section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress on 

17 an annual basis an interim report that— 

18 (A) identifies the sequence and schedule 

19 for completion of the assessments if the Sec20 retary sequences the assessments; or 

21 (B) describes the progress of the assess22 ments if the Secretary does not sequence the 

23 assessments. 


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1 (f) UPDATES.—The Secretary may periodically up2 date the assessments conducted under this section based 

3 on— 

4 (1) the generation of new information or 

5 datasets by the Federal Government; or 

6 (2) the receipt of new information or datasets 

7 from critical mineral producers, State geological sur8 veys, academic institutions, trade associations, or 

9 other persons. 

10 (g) ADDITIONAL SURVEYS.—The Secretary shall 

11 complete a resource assessment for each additional min12 eral, element, substance, or material subsequently des13 ignated as a critical mineral under section 102 not later 

14 than 2 years after such designation. 

15 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

17 Congress a report describing the status of geological sur18 veying of Federal land for any mineral, element, sub19 stance, or material commodity— 

20 (1) for which the United States was dependent 

21 on a foreign country for more than 25 percent of the 

22 United States supply, as depicted in the report 

23 issued by the United States Geological Survey enti24 tled ‘‘Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020’’; but 


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1 (2) that is not designated as a critical mineral 

2 under section 102. 

3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

5 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030 

6 to carry out this section. 

7 SEC. 104. PERMITTING. 

8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) critical minerals are fundamental to the 

11 economy, competitiveness, and security of the United 

12 States; 

13 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the crit14 ical mineral needs of the United States should be 

15 satisfied by minerals, elements, substances, and ma16 terials responsibly produced and recycled in the 

17 United States; and 

18 (3) the Federal permitting process has been 

19 identified as an impediment to mineral production 

20 and the mineral security of the United States. 

21 (b) COORDINATION ON PERMITTING PROCESS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—To improve the quality and 

23 timeliness of decisions, the lead agency shall, to the 

24 maximum extent practicable, with respect to a 

25 project on Federal land described in paragraph (2), 


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1 complete Federal permitting and review processes 

2 with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, while 

3 supporting vital economic growth, by— 

4 (A) establishing and adhering to timelines 

5 and schedules for the consideration of, and final 

6 decisions regarding, applications, operating 

7 plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use 

8 authorizations for mineral-related activities on 

9 Federal land; 

10 (B) establishing clear, quantifiable, and 

11 temporal permitting performance goals and 

12 tracking progress against those goals; 

13 (C) engaging in early collaboration among 

14 agencies, project sponsors, and affected stake15 holders— 

16 (i) to incorporate and address the in17 terests of those parties; and 

18 (ii) to minimize delays; 

19 (D) ensuring transparency and account20 ability by using cost-effective information tech21 nology to collect and disseminate information 

22 regarding individual projects and agency per23 formance; 

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1 ments to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort, 

2 resolve concerns, and allow for concurrent, 

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

4 Federal environmental and regulatory reviews; 

5 (F) providing demonstrable improvements 

6 in the performance of Federal permitting and 

7 review processes, including lower costs and 

8 more timely decisions; 

9 (G) expanding and institutionalizing per10 mitting and review process improvements that 

11 have proven effective; 

12 (H) developing mechanisms to better com13 municate priorities and resolve disputes among 

14 agencies at the national, regional, State, and 

15 local levels; and 

16 (I) developing other practices to improve 

17 regulatory processes, such as preapplication 

18 procedures. 

19 (2) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—A project is de20 scribed by this paragraph if such project is— 

21 (A) a project to produce a critical mineral, 

22 including as a byproduct or from tailing; 

23 (B) an exploration project with respect to 

24 which the presence of a byproduct is a reason25 able expectation, based on known mineral 


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1 companionality, geologic formation, mineralogy, 

2 or other factors; or 

3 (C) a project that demonstrates that the 

4 byproduct is of sufficient grade that, if com5 bined with the production of a host mineral, is 

6 economical to recover, as determined by the ap7 plicable Secretary. 

8 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out para9 graph (1), the lead agency shall consider deferring 

10 to, and relying on, baseline data, analyses, and re11 views performed by State agencies with jurisdiction 

12 over the proposed project. 

13 (4) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The lead 

14 agency with respect to a critical mineral project, in 

15 consultation with any other Federal agency with ju16 risdiction over such project, may establish a memo17 randum of agreement with the project sponsor, State 

18 and local governments, and other entities such lead 

19 agency determines appropriate to carry out the ac20 tivities described in this subsection. 

21 (5) TIME LIMIT FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.— 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and ex23 cept with agreement of the project sponsor, the total 

24 period for all necessary Federal reviews and permit 


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1 consideration for a project reasonably expected to 

2 produce critical minerals may not exceed 30 months. 

3 (c) DETERMINATION UNDER NATIONAL ENVIRON4 MENTAL POLICY ACT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that the Na6 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

7 4321 et seq.) applies to the issuance of any mineral 

8 exploration or mine permit, the lead agency may 

9 deem the requirements of such Act satisfied if the 

10 lead agency determines that a State or Federal 

11 agency acting under State or Federal law has ad12 dressed the following factors: 

13 (A) The environmental impact of the ac14 tion to be conducted under the permit. 

15 (B) Possible adverse environmental effects 

16 of actions under the permit. 

17 (C) Possible alternatives to issuance of the 

18 permit. 

19 (D) The relationship between long- and 

20 short-term uses of the local environment and 

21 the maintenance and enhancement of long-term 

22 productivity. 

23 (E) Any irreversible and irretrievable com24 mitment of resources that would be involved in 

25 the proposed action. 


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1 (2) PUBLICATION.—The lead agency shall pub2 lish a determination under paragraph (1) not later 

3 than 90 days after receipt of an application for the 

4 permit. 

5 (3) VERIFICATION.—The lead agency shall pub6 lish a determination that the factors under para7 graph (1) have been sufficiently addressed and pub8 lic participation has occurred with regard to any au9 thorizing actions before issuing any mineral explo10 ration or mine permit. 

11 (d) SCHEDULE FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—For 

12 any project for which the lead agency cannot make the 

13 determination described in (c), at the request of a project 

14 sponsor, the lead agency, cooperating agencies, and any 

15 other agencies involved with the mineral exploration or 

16 mine permitting process shall enter into an agreement 

17 with the project sponsor that sets time limits for each part 

18 of the permitting process, including— 

19 (1) the decision on whether to prepare an envi20 ronmental impact statement or similar analysis re21 quired under the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

23 (2) a determination of the scope of any environ24 mental impact statement or similar analysis required 

25 under such Act; 


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

2 studies required to prepare an environmental impact 

3 statement or similar analysis required under such 

4 Act; 

5 (4) preparation of any draft environmental im6 pact statement or similar analysis required under 

7 such Act; 

8 (5) preparation of a final environmental impact 

9 statement or similar analysis required under such 

10 Act; 

11 (6) any consultations required under applicable 

12 law; 

13 (7) submission and review of any comments re14 quired under applicable law; 

15 (8) publication of any public notices required 

16 under applicable law; and 

17 (9) any final or interim decisions. 

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

19 the review process under the National Environmental Pol20 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the lead agency 

21 may not address any agency or public comments that were 

22 not submitted— 

23 (1) during a public comment period or consulta24 tion period provided during the permitting process; 

25 or 


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1 (2) as otherwise required by law. 

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

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

4 the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a 

5 report that— 

6 (1) identifies additional measures (including 

7 regulatory and legislative proposals, as appropriate) 

8 that would increase the timeliness of permitting ac9 tivities for the exploration and development of do10 mestic critical minerals; 

11 (2) identifies options (including cost recovery 

12 paid by permit applicants, as appropriate) for ensur13 ing adequate staffing and training of Federal enti14 ties and personnel responsible for the consideration 

15 of applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, per16 mits, and other use authorizations for critical min17 eral-related activities on Federal land; 

18 (3) quantifies the amount of time typically re19 quired (including range derived from minimum and 

20 maximum durations, mean, median, variance, and 

21 any other statistical measure or representation the 

22 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture deter23 mine appropriate) to complete each step (including 

24 those aspects outside the control of the executive 

25 branch, such as judicial review, applicant decisions, 


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1 or State and local government involvement) associ2 ated with the development and processing of applica3 tions, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 

4 other use authorizations for critical mineral-related 

5 activities on Federal land; and 

6 (4) describes actions carried out pursuant to 

7 subsection (b). 

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

9 after the date of submission of the report under subsection 

10 (e), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, after 

11 providing public notice and an opportunity to comment, 

12 shall develop and publish a performance metric for evalu13 ating the progress made by the executive branch to expe14 dite the permitting of activities that will increase explo15 ration for, and development of, domestic critical minerals, 

16 while maintaining environmental standards. 

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

18 budget submission by the President under section 1105 

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

20 performance metric required under subsection (f), and an21 nually thereafter, the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the 

22 Interior shall jointly submit to Congress a report that— 

23 (1) summarizes the implementation of rec24 ommendations, measures, and options identified in 

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


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1 (2) using the performance metric under sub2 section (d), describes progress made by the executive 

3 branch, as compared to the baseline established pur4 suant to subsection (c)(3), on expediting the permit5 ting of activities that will increase exploration for, 

6 and development of, domestic critical minerals; and 

7 (3) compares the United States to other coun8 tries in terms of permitting efficiency and any other 

9 criteria relevant to the globally competitive critical 

10 minerals industry. 

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

12 Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior generated 

13 under subsection (g), the Director of the Office of Man14 agement and Budget shall prioritize inclusion of individual 

15 critical mineral projects on the website operated by the 

16 Office of Management and Budget in accordance with sec17 tion 1122 of title 31, United States Code. 

18 (j) REPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA19 TION.—Not later than 1 year and 300 days after the date 

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

21 Business Administration shall submit to the Committees 

22 on Small Business and Natural Resources of the House 

23 of Representatives and Small Business and Entrepreneur24 ship and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 


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1 report that assesses the performance of Federal agencies 

2 with respect to— 

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

4 States Code, in promulgating regulations applicable 

5 to the critical minerals industry; and 

6 (2) performing an analysis of regulations appli7 cable to the critical minerals industry that may be 

8 outmoded, inefficient, duplicative, or excessively bur9 densome. 

10 (k) APPLICATION.—Section 41001(6)(A) of the 

11 FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)) is amended by in12 serting ‘‘(including critical mineral manufacturing (as de13 fined in section 2 of the ‘American Critical Mineral Explo14 ration and Innovation Act’))’’ after ‘‘manufacturing’’. 

15 SEC. 105. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS. 

16 (a) DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.—Absent any extraor17 dinary circumstance, and except as otherwise required by 

18 law, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

19 ensure that each Federal Register notice described in sub20 section (b) shall be— 

21 (1) subject to any required reviews within the 

22 Department of the Interior or the Department of 

23 Agriculture; and 


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1 (2) published in final form in the Federal Reg2 ister not later than 45 days after the date of initial 

3 preparation of the notice. 

4 (b) PREPARATION.—The preparation of Federal Reg5 ister notices required by law associated with the issuance 

6 of a critical mineral exploration or mine permit shall be 

7 delegated to the organizational level within the agency re8 sponsible for issuing the critical mineral exploration or 

9 mine permit. 

10 (c) TRANSMISSION.—All Federal Register notices re11 garding official document availability, announcements of 

12 meetings, or notices of intent to undertake an action shall 

13 be originated in, and transmitted to the Federal Register 

14 from, the office in which, as applicable— 

15 (1) the documents or meetings are held; or 

16 (2) the activity is initiated. 

17 SEC. 106. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CRITICAL MINERALS 

18 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

20 carry out a crosscutting research and development pro21 gram to accelerate innovation in advanced critical minerals 

22 development strategies and technologies for the purpose 

23 of making better use of domestic resources and elimi24 nating national reliance on minerals and mineral materials 

25 that are subject to supply disruptions. 


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1 (b) EXECUTION.—In carrying out this program, the 

2 Secretary of Energy shall— 

3 (1) develop innovative technologies and prac4 tices to diversify commercially viable domestic 

5 sources of critical minerals and identify new uses for 

6 co-products and by-products; 

7 (2) advance new mapping and mining tech8 nologies and techniques that can accelerate the ro9 bust characterization of domestic critical minerals 

10 resources, including advanced critical mineral extrac11 tion, production, separation, alloying, or processing 

12 technologies that can decrease the energy intensity, 

13 potential environmental impact and costs of those 

14 activities; 

15 (3) identify and develop alternative minerals, 

16 metals, and replacement materials that lessen the 

17 need for critical minerals, particularly those avail18 able in abundance within the United States and not 

19 subject to supply disruptions, and design new sys20 tems to use these alternatives; 

21 (4) advance new technologies and techniques to 

22 support the economically viable manufacturing, recy23 cling, and reuse of critical minerals; and 

24 (5) develop advanced theoretical, computational, 

25 and experimental tools necessary to support the 


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1 crosscutting basic research and development needs 

2 of diverse critical minerals stakeholders. 

3 (c) LEVERAGING.—In carrying out the program 

4 under subsection (a) the Secretary of Energy shall lever5 age resources and expertise across the Department and 

6 from— 

7 (1) Federal agencies; 

8 (2) National Laboratories; 

9 (3) critical mineral producers; 

10 (4) critical mineral processors; 

11 (5) critical mineral manufacturers; 

12 (6) trade associations; 

13 (7) academic institutions; 

14 (8) small businesses; and 

15 (9) other relevant entities or individuals. 

16 (d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act the Secretary 

18 of Energy shall conduct a review of activities carried out 

19 under this program described in subsection (a) to deter20 mine the achievement of technical milestones established 

21 in subsection (f). 

22 (e) PROHIBITION.—No funds allocated to the pro23 gram described in subsection (a) may be obligated or ex24 pended for commercial application of energy technology. 

25 (f) CRITICAL MINERALS CONSORTIUM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 Energy shall establish and operate a Critical Min4 erals Consortium (referred to in this section as the 

5 ‘‘Consortium’’) for the purpose of supporting the 

6 program under subsection (a) by providing, to the 

7 maximum extent practicable, a centralized entity for 

8 multidisciplinary, collaborative, critical minerals re9 search and development. 

10 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Con11 sortium shall be representatives from relevant Fed12 eral agencies, the National Laboratories, institutions 

13 of higher education, multi-institutional collabora14 tions, and other appropriate entities. 

15 (3) ACTIVITIES.—The Consortium shall— 

16 (A) develop and implement a multi-year 

17 program plan which includes the determination 

18 of technical goals and milestones and prioritizes 

19 leveraging of the user facilities, high-perform20 ance computing capabilities, and expertise of 

21 the Department of Energy and the National 

22 Laboratories; and 

23 (B) submit an annual report to the Sec24 retary of Energy summarizing the activities of 

25 the Consortium which includes an evaluation of 


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1 the Consortium’s role in the achievement of 

2 technical milestones determined in subpara3 graph (A). 

4 (4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Energy 

5 shall ensure the coordination of, and avoid unneces6 sary duplication of, the activities of the Consortium 

7 with the activities of other research entities of the 

8 Department, institutions of higher education, and 

9 the private sector. 

10 (5) DURATION.—The Consortium established 

11 under this subsection shall receive support for a pe12 riod of not more than 5 years, subject to the avail13 ability of appropriations. 

14 (6) RENEWAL.—Upon the expiration of any pe15 riod of support of the Consortium, the Secretary of 

16 Energy may renew support for the Consortium, on 

17 a merit-reviewed basis, for a period of not more than 

18 5 years. 

19 (7) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the exist20 ing authorities of the Department, the Secretary of 

21 Energy may terminate the Consortium for cause 

22 during the performance period. 

23 (g) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec25 retary of Energy shall submit to Congress a report sumVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7061.IH H7061

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1 marizing the activities, findings, and progress of the pro2 gram. 

3 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En5 ergy $135,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

6 2030 to carry out this section. 

7 SEC. 107. CRITICAL MINERALS RESEARCH DATABASE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in con9 sultation with the Director of the National Science Foun10 dation, shall support the development of a web-based plat11 form to provide access to a database of computed informa12 tion on known and predicted critical minerals and related 

13 mineral materials properties and computational tools in 

14 order to— 

15 (1) accelerate breakthroughs in critical minerals 

16 discovery and design; 

17 (2) strengthen the foundation for new mining 

18 technologies and advanced manufacturing; and 

19 (3) drive the development of advanced materials 

20 for applications that span the Department’s missions 

21 in energy, environment, and national security. 

22 (b) PROGRAM.—In carrying out this section, the Sec23 retary of Energy shall— 

24 (1) conduct cooperative research with industry, 

25 academia, and other research institutions to faciliVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:59 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7061.IH H7061

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1 tate the design of novel materials, including critical 

2 materials and substitutes for critical materials; 

3 (2) leverage existing high-performance com4 puting systems to conduct high throughput calcula5 tions and develop computation and data mining al6 gorithms for the prediction of mineral properties, in7 cluding a focus on critical minerals; 

8 (3) leverage and support basic research in min9 eralogy and mineral chemistry to enhance the under10 standing, prediction, and manipulation of critical 

11 minerals; and 

12 (4) manage and make available to researchers 

13 accessible, curated, standardized, secure, and privacy 

14 protected data sets from the public and private sec15 tors for the purposes of critical minerals research 

16 and development activities. 

17 (c) COORDINATION.—To carry out this section, the 

18 Secretary of Energy shall leverage programs, facilities, 

19 and activities across the Department. 

20 (d) SECURITY.—In carrying out the activities author21 ized by this section, the Secretary of Energy, in consulta22 tion with the Director of the National Science Foundation, 

23 shall ensure proper security controls are in place to protect 

24 proprietary or sensitive data, as appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 108. ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING. 

2 (a) CAPABILITIES.—In order to evaluate existing crit3 ical mineral policies and inform future actions that may 

4 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price vola5 tility, and prepare for demand growth and other market 

6 shifts, the Secretary, in consultation with the Energy In7 formation Administration, academic institutions, and oth8 ers to maximize the application of existing competencies 

9 related to developing and maintaining computer-models 

10 and similar analytical tools, shall conduct and publish the 

11 results of an annual report that includes— 

12 (1) as part of the annually published Mineral 

13 Commodity Summaries from the United States Geo14 logical Survey, a comprehensive review of critical 

15 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat16 terns, including— 

17 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

18 domestically produced during the preceding 

19 year; 

20 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

21 domestically consumed during the preceding 

22 year; 

23 (C) market price data or other price data 

24 for each critical mineral; 

25 (D) an assessment of— 


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1 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

2 meet the national security, energy, eco3 nomic, industrial, technological, and other 

4 needs of the United States during the pre5 ceding year; 

6 (ii) the reliance of the United States 

7 on foreign sources to meet those needs 

8 during the preceding year; and 

9 (iii) the implications of any supply 

10 shortages, restrictions, or disruptions dur11 ing the preceding year; 

12 (E) the quantity of each critical mineral 

13 domestically recycled during the preceding year; 

14 (F) the market penetration during the pre15 ceding year of alternatives to each critical min16 eral; 

17 (G) a discussion of international trends as18 sociated with the discovery, production, con19 sumption, use, costs of production, prices, and 

20 recycling of each critical mineral as well as the 

21 development of alternatives to critical minerals; 

22 and 

23 (H) such other data, analyses, and evalua24 tions as the Secretary determines necessary to 

25 achieve the purposes of this section; and 


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1 (2) a comprehensive forecast, entitled the ‘‘An2 nual Critical Minerals Outlook’’, of projected critical 

3 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat4 terns, including— 

5 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

6 projected to be domestically produced over the 

7 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

8 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

9 projected to be domestically consumed over the 

10 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

11 (C) an assessment of— 

12 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

13 meet projected national security, energy, 

14 economic, industrial, technological, and 

15 other needs of the United States; 

16 (ii) the projected reliance of the 

17 United States on foreign sources to meet 

18 those needs; and 

19 (iii) the projected implications of po20 tential supply shortages, restrictions, or 

21 disruptions; 

22 (D) the quantity of each critical mineral 

23 projected to be domestically recycled over the 

24 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 


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1 (E) the market penetration of alternatives 

2 to each critical mineral projected to take place 

3 over the subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year 

4 periods; 

5 (F) a discussion of reasonably foreseeable 

6 international trends associated with the dis7 covery, production, consumption, use, costs of 

8 production, and recycling of each critical min9 eral as well as the development of alternatives 

10 to critical minerals; and 

11 (G) such other projections relating to each 

12 critical mineral as the Secretary determines to 

13 be necessary to achieve the purposes of this sec14 tion. 

15 (b) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—In preparing a re16 port described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall en17 sure, consistent with section 5(f) of the National Materials 

18 and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 

19 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604(f)), that— 

20 (1) no person uses the information and data 

21 collected for the report for a purpose other than the 

22 development of or reporting of aggregate data in a 

23 manner such that the identity of the person or firm 

24 who supplied the information is not discernible and 


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1 is not material to the intended uses of the informa2 tion; 

3 (2) no person discloses any information or data 

4 collected for the report unless the information or 

5 data has been transformed into a statistical or ag6 gregate form that does not allow the identification of 

7 the person or firm who supplied particular informa8 tion; and 

9 (3) procedures are established to require the 

10 withholding of any information or data collected for 

11 the report if the Secretary determines that with12 holding is necessary to protect proprietary informa13 tion, including any trade secrets or other confiden14 tial information. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

17 $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030 

18 to carry out this section. 

19 SEC. 109. EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE. 

20 (a) WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year and 

22 300 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Sec24 retary, the Director of the National Science Founda25 tion, the institutions of higher education described in 


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1 paragraph (2), and employers in the critical minerals 

2 sector, shall submit to Congress an assessment of 

3 the domestic availability of technically trained per4 sonnel necessary for critical mineral exploration, de5 velopment, assessment, production, manufacturing, 

6 recycling, analysis, forecasting, education, and re7 search, including an analysis of— 

8 (A) skills that are in the shortest supply as 

9 of the date of the assessment; 

10 (B) skills that are projected to be in short 

11 supply in the future; 

12 (C) the demographics of the critical min13 erals industry and how the demographics will 

14 evolve under the influence of factors such as an 

15 aging workforce; 

16 (D) the effectiveness of training and edu17 cation programs in addressing skills shortages; 

18 (E) opportunities to hire locally for new 

19 and existing critical mineral activities; 

20 (F) the sufficiency of personnel within rel21 evant areas of the Federal Government for 

22 achieving the policies described in section 3 of 

23 the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Re24 search and Development Act of 1980 (30 

25 U.S.C. 1602); and 


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1 (G) the potential need for new training 

2 programs to have a measurable effect on the 

3 supply of trained workers in the critical min4 erals industry. 

5 (2) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

6 The institutions of higher education described in this 

7 paragraph are— 

8 (A) institutions of higher education with 

9 substantial expertise in mining; and 

10 (B) institutions of higher education with 

11 significant expertise in minerals research, in12 cluding fundamental research into alternatives. 

13 (b) CURRICULUM STUDY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec15 retary of Labor shall jointly enter into an arrange16 ment with the National Academy of Sciences and the 

17 National Academy of Engineering under which the 

18 Academies shall coordinate with the National 

19 Science Foundation on conducting a study— 

20 (A) to design an interdisciplinary program 

21 on critical minerals that will support the critical 

22 mineral supply chain and improve the ability of 

23 the United States to increase domestic critical 

24 mineral exploration, development, production, 


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1 manufacturing, and research, including funda2 mental research into alternatives, and recycling; 

3 (B) to address undergraduate and grad4 uate education, especially to assist in the devel5 opment of graduate level programs of research 

6 and instruction that lead to advanced degrees 

7 with an emphasis on the critical mineral supply 

8 chain or other positions that will increase do9 mestic critical mineral exploration, development, 

10 production, manufacturing, and research, in11 cluding fundamental research into alternatives, 

12 and recycling; 

13 (C) to develop guidelines for proposals 

14 from institutions of higher education with sub15 stantial capabilities in the required disciplines 

16 for activities to improve the critical mineral 

17 supply chain and advance the capacity of the 

18 United States to increase domestic critical min19 eral exploration, research, development, produc20 tion, manufacturing, and recycling; and 

21 (D) to outline criteria for evaluating per22 formance and recommendations for the amount 

23 of funding that will be necessary to establish 

24 and carry out the program described in sub25 section (c). 


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

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

3 submit to Congress a description of the results of 

4 the study required under paragraph (1). 

5 (c) PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary and the 

7 Secretary of Labor shall jointly conduct a competi8 tive grant program under which institutions of high9 er education may apply for and receive 4-year grants 

10 for— 

11 (A) startup costs for newly designated fac12 ulty positions in integrated critical mineral edu13 cation, research, innovation, training, and work14 force development programs consistent with 

15 subsection (b); 

16 (B) internships, scholarships, and fellow17 ships for students enrolled in programs related 

18 to critical minerals; 

19 (C) equipment necessary for integrated 

20 critical mineral innovation, training, and work21 force development programs; and 

22 (D) research of critical minerals and their 

23 applications, particularly concerning the manu24 facture of critical components vital to national 

25 security. 


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1 (2) RENEWAL.—A grant under this subsection 

2 shall be renewable for up to two 3-year terms based 

3 on performance criteria outlined under subsection 

4 (b)(1)(D). 

5 SEC. 110. NATIONAL GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL DATA 

6 PRESERVATION PROGRAM. 

7 Section 351(k) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

8 U.S.C. 15908(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘$30,000,000 

9 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030, 

11 to remain available until expended’’. 

12 SEC. 111. ADMINISTRATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Critical Materials 

14 Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is repealed. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(d) of the 

16 National Superconductivity and Competitiveness Act of 

17 1988 (15 U.S.C. 5202(d)) is amended in the first sentence 

18 by striking ‘‘, with the assistance of the National Critical 

19 Materials Council as specified in the National Critical Ma20 terials Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.),’’. 

21 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or an 

23 amendment made by this Act modifies any require24 ment or authority provided by— 


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1 (A) the matter under the heading ‘‘GEO2 LOGICAL SURVEY’’ of the first section of the 

3 Act of March 3, 1879 (43 U.S.C. 31(a)); or 

4 (B) the first section of Public Law 87–626 

5 (43 U.S.C. 31(b)). 

6 (2) EFFECT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 

7 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

8 Act affects the authority of the Secretary of Defense 

9 with respect to the work of the Department of De10 fense on critical material supplies in furtherance of 

11 the national defense mission of the Department of 

12 Defense. 

13 (3) SECRETARIAL ORDER NOT AFFECTED.— 

14 This Act shall not apply to any mineral described in 

15 Secretarial Order No. 3324, issued by the Secretary 

16 on December 3, 2012, in any area to which the 

17 order applies. 

18 TITLE II—CRITICAL MINERALS 

19 TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT 

20 SUPPORT 

21 SEC. 201. TECHNOLOGY GRANTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

23 competitive grant program to conduct studies, research, 

24 and demonstration projects relating to the production of 

25 critical minerals, including— 


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1 (1) studies of mining, mineral extraction effi2 ciency, and related processing technology; 

3 (2) reclamation technology and practices for ac4 tive mining operations; 

5 (3) the development of remining systems and 

6 technologies that facilitate reclamation that fosters 

7 the recovery of resources at abandoned mine sites; 

8 (4) investigations of mineral resource extraction 

9 methods that reduce environmental and human im10 pacts; 

11 (5) reducing dependence on foreign energy and 

12 mineral supplies; 

13 (6) enhancing the competitiveness of United 

14 States energy and mineral technology exports; 

15 (7) the extraction or processing of coinciding 

16 mineralization, including rare earth elements, within 

17 coal, coal processing byproduct, overburden or coal 

18 residue; 

19 (8) enhancing technologies and practices related 

20 to mitigation of acid mine drainage, reforestation, 

21 and revegetation in the reclamation of land and 

22 water resources adversely affected by mining; 

23 (9) meeting challenges of extreme mining condi24 tions, such as deeper deposits or offshore or cold re25 gion mining; and 


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1 (10) mineral economics, including analysis of 

2 supply chains, future mineral needs, and unconven3 tional mining resources. 

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

5 amounts expended pursuant to this section, not less than 

6 70 percent shall be expended to enhance and support min7 ing and mineral engineering programs at mining schools 

8 in the United States. 

9 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall 

10 consult with relevant stakeholders and provide a signifi11 cant opportunity for participation by undergraduate and 

12 graduate students at mining schools. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

15 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030. 

16 (e) MINING SCHOOL.—In this title, the term ‘‘mining 

17 school’’ means a mining, metallurgical, or mineral engi18 neering program or department accredited by the Accredi19 tation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., that 

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

21 term is defined in section 631(a) of the Higher Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1132(a))) in the United States. 


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1 TITLE III—MANAGEMENT OF 

2 FEDERAL MINERAL RESOURCES 

3 SEC. 301. ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYSIS. 

4 (a) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED.—Federal 

5 lands and waters may not be withdrawn from entry under 

6 the mining laws or operation of the mineral leasing and 

7 mineral materials laws unless a quantitative and quali8 tative geophysical and geological mineral resource assess9 ment of the impacted area has been completed during the 

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

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

12 States Geological Survey. 

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

14 completed by the Director of the United States Geological 

15 Survey, including a resource assessment conducted pursu16 ant to section 103, shows that a previously undiscovered 

17 deposit is present in an area that has been withdrawn 

18 from entry under the mining laws or operation of the min19 eral leasing and mineral materials laws pursuant to— 

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

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

22 Secretary shall update the existing Resource Man23 agement Plan for such area; or 

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

25 Code, the Secretary shall provide recommendations 


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1 to the President on appropriate measures to reduce 

2 unnecessary impacts that the withdrawal may have 

3 on critical mineral exploration, development, and 

4 other mining activities. 

5 (c) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Before a re6 source management plan under the Federal Land Policy 

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

8 is updated or completed, the Secretary or Secretary of Ag9 riculture, as applicable, shall, in consultation with the Di10 rector of the United States Geological Survey: 

11 (1) Review a quantitative and qualitative min12 eral resource assessment that was completed or up13 dated during the 10-year period ending on the date 

14 the resource management plan is updated or com15 pleted or is certified as current by the Director of 

16 the United States Geological Survey for the geo17 graphic area affected by the resource management 

18 plan. 

19 (2) In consultation with the Departments of 

20 Commerce and Defense, consider the economic, stra21 tegic and national security value of mineral deposits 

22 in the impacted geographic area affected by the re23 source management plan. 

24 (d) PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED DEPOSIT.—In this 

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


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1 a deposit that has been previously evaluated by the United 

2 States Geological Survey and found to be of low mineral 

3 potential but upon subsequent evaluation is determined to 

4 have economically recoverable quantities of a critical min5 eral. 

6 SEC. 302. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL. 

7 (a) MORATORIA.—Notwithstanding any other provi8 sion of law, the Secretary may not declare a moratorium 

9 on issuing leases, claims, or permits on Federal lands, in10 cluding on the Outer Continental Shelf, for the mining of 

11 critical minerals, or related activities unless such morato12 rium is authorized by an Act of Congress. 

13 (b) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, the Secretary may not withdraw Federal lands 

15 and waters from entry under the mining laws or operation 

16 of the mineral leasing and mineral materials laws for the 

17 mining of critical minerals without congressional approval 

18 if such withdrawal— 

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

20 or 

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

22 is less than 50 miles away from the exterior bound23 ary of another parcel that was withdrawn during the 


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

2 the parcel at issue. 

Æ 


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