II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2006 

To provide for the establishment of a National Rare Earth Refinery 

Cooperative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2014 

Mr. BLUNT (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a National Rare Earth 

Refinery Cooperative, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Rare Earth 

5 Cooperative Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) Heavy rare earth elements are critical for 

10 the national defense of the United States, advanced 


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1 energy technologies, and other desirable commercial 

2 and industrial applications. 

3 (2) The Government Accountability Office has 

4 confirmed that the monopoly control of the People’s 

5 Republic of China over the rare earth value chain 

6 has resulted in vulnerabilities in the procurement of 

7 multiple United States weapons systems. 

8 (3) China has leveraged its monopoly control 

9 over the rare earth value chain to force United 

10 States, European, Japanese, and Korean corpora11 tions to transfer manufacturing facilities, tech12 nology, and jobs to China in exchange for secure 

13 supply contracts. 

14 (4) China’s increasingly aggressive mercantile 

15 behavior has resulted in involuntary transfers of 

16 technology, manufacturing, and jobs resulting in on17 erous trade imbalances with the United States and 

18 trading partners of the United States. 

19 (5) Direct links exist between heavy rare earth 

20 mineralogy and thorium. 

21 (6) Thorium is a mildly radioactive element 

22 commonly associated with the lanthanide elements in 

23 the most heavy rare earth deposits that are located 

24 in the United States and elsewhere. 


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1 (7) Regulations regarding thorium represent a 

2 barrier to the development of a heavy rare earth in3 dustry that is based in the United States. 

4 (8) Balancing the strategic national interest ob5 jectives of the United States against economic and 

6 environmental risks are best met through the cre7 ation of a rare earth cooperative. 

8 (9) A rare earth cooperative could— 

9 (A) greatly increase rare earth production; 

10 (B) ensure environmental safety; and 

11 (C) lower the cost of the production and fi12 nancial risks faced by rare earth producers in 

13 the United States. 

14 (10) Historically, agricultural and electric co15 operatives have stood as one of the greatest success 

16 stories of the United States. 

17 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

18 United States to advance domestic refining of heavy rare 

19 earth materials and the safe storage of thorium in antici20 pation of the potential future industrial uses of thorium, 

21 including energy, as— 

22 (1) thorium has a mineralogical association 

23 with valuable heavy rare earth elements; 


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1 (2) there is a great need to develop domestic re2 fining capacity to process domestic heavy rare earth 

3 deposits; and 

4 (3) the economy of the United States would 

5 benefit from the rapid development and control of 

6 intellectual property relating to the commercial de7 velopment of technology utilizing thorium. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) ACTINIDE.—The term ‘‘actinide’’ means a 

11 natural element associated with any of the 15 rare 

12 earth minerals with atomic number 43 and atomic 

13 numbers 81 through 93 on the periodic table. 

14 (2) CONSUMER MEMBER.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘consumer 

16 member’’ means a member of the Cooperative 

17 that is— 

18 (i) an entity that is part of, or has a 

19 role in, the value chain for rare earth ma20 terials or rare earth products, including 

21 from the refined oxide stage to the stage in 

22 which the rare earth elements are finished 

23 in any physical or chemical form (including 

24 oxides, metals, alloys, catalysts, or compo25 nents); or 


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1 (ii) a consumer of rare earth prod2 ucts. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘consumer 

4 member’’ includes— 

5 (i) a producer of or other entity that 

6 is part of the value chain for rare earth 

7 materials, including original equipment 

8 manufacturer producers, whose place of 

9 business is located in or outside the United 

10 States; 

11 (ii) a defense contractor or contrac12 tors in the United States; and 

13 (iii) any government agency in the 

14 United States or outside the United States 

15 that invests in the Cooperative. 

16 (3) COOPERATIVE.—The term ‘‘Cooperative’’ 

17 means the Thorium-Bearing Rare Earth Refinery 

18 Cooperative established by section 4(a)(1). 

19 (4) COOPERATIVE BOARD.—The term ‘‘Cooper20 ative Board’’ means the Board of Directors of the 

21 Cooperative established under section 4(b)(2). 

22 (5) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’ 

23 means the Thorium Storage, Energy, and Industrial 

24 Products Corporation established under section 

25 5(a)(1). 


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1 (6) CORPORATION BOARD.—The term ‘‘Cor2 poration Board’’ means the Board of Directors of 

3 the Corporation established under section 5(b)(1). 

4 (7) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Exec5 utive Committee’’ means the executive committee es6 tablished under section 5(b)(2). 

7 (8) INITIAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The term 

8 ‘‘Initial Board of Directors’’ means the initial Board 

9 of Directors for the Cooperative established under 

10 section 4(b)(1)(A). 

11 (9) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

13 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

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

15 (10) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘na16 tional laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

17 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

18 U.S.C. 15801). 

19 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

20 means the Secretary of Defense. 

21 (12) SUPPLIER MEMBER.—The term ‘‘supplier 

22 member’’ means a rare earth producer that enters 

23 into a contract to supply the Cooperative with rare 

24 earth ores. 


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1 (13) TOLLING.—The term ‘‘tolling’’ means a 

2 fee-for-services contract between the Cooperative and 

3 a primary rare earth producer under which— 

4 (A) the producer retains ownership and 

5 control of the finished product; and 

6 (B) pays to the Cooperative a fee for serv7 ices rendered by the Cooperative. 

8 (14) UNPROCESSED AND UNREFINED ORE.— 

9 The term ‘‘unprocessed and refined ore’’ includes 

10 any ores or residual ores resulting from the mining, 

11 extraction, beneficiation, and processing of other 

12 natural resources. 

13 SEC. 4. THORIUM-BEARING RARE EARTH REFINERY COOP14 ERATIVE. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Coop17 erative, to be known as the ‘‘Thorium-Bearing Rare 

18 Earth Refinery Cooperative’’, to provide for the do19 mestic processing of thorium-bearing rare earth con20 centrates as residual unprocessed and unrefined 

21 ores. 

22 (2) FEDERAL CHARTER; OWNERSHIP.—The Co23 operative shall operate under a Federal charter. 

24 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (A) COMPOSITION.—The Cooperative shall 

2 be comprised of— 

3 (i) supplier members; and 

4 (ii) consumer members. 

5 (B) SUPPLIER MEMBERS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of 

7 entering into a contract to supply the Co8 operative with rare earth ores, supplier 

9 members shall provide rare earth con10 centrates to the Cooperative at market 

11 price. 

12 (ii) CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Any 

13 supplier member that makes significant 

14 capital contributions to the Cooperative, as 

15 determined by the Cooperative Board, may 

16 become a consumer member for purposes 

17 of the distribution of profits of the Cooper18 ative under subparagraph (D). 

19 (C) CONSUMER MEMBER.—A consumer 

20 member— 

21 (i) shall make capital contributions to 

22 the Cooperative in exchange for entering 

23 into negotiated supply agreements; and 

24 (ii) in accordance with the agreements 

25 entered into under clause (i), may acquire 


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1 finished rare earth products from the Co2 operative at market price. 

3 (D) DISTRIBUTION OF PROFITS.—Any 

4 profits of the Cooperative shall be distributed 

5 between supplier members and consumer mem6 bers in accordance with a formula established 

7 by the Cooperative Board. 

8 (b) MANAGEMENT.— 

9 (1) INITIAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

12 Secretary shall appoint the Initial Board of Di13 rectors for the Cooperative, comprised of 5 

14 members, of whom— 

15 (i) 1 member shall represent the De16 fense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials 

17 program of the Department of Defense; 

18 (ii) 1 member shall represent the As19 sistant Secretary of Defense for Research 

20 and Engineering; 

21 (iii) 1 member shall represent United 

22 States advocacy groups for rare earth pro23 ducers and original equipment manufac24 turing interests; 


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1 (iv) 1 member shall represent the 

2 United States Geological Survey; and 

3 (v) 1 member who shall— 

4 (I) not be affiliated with a Fed5 eral agency; and 

6 (II) be recommended for appoint7 ment by a majority vote of the other 

8 members of the Initial Board of Di9 rectors appointed under clauses (i) 

10 through (iv). 

11 (B) DUTIES.—The Initial Board of Direc12 tors shall— 

13 (i) establish a charter, bylaws, and 

14 rules of governance for the Cooperative; 

15 (ii) make formative business decisions 

16 on behalf of the Cooperative; and 

17 (iii) assist in the formation of, and 

18 the provision of tasks and assignments to, 

19 the Corporation. 

20 (C) STANDING MEMBER.—The member ap21 pointed under subparagraph (A)(v) shall remain 

22 on the Cooperative Board and Corporation 

23 Board, until such time as— 

24 (i) the member voluntarily resigns; or 


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1 (ii) a majority of the members of the 

2 Cooperative Board and a majority of the 

3 members of the Corporation Board vote to 

4 remove the member from the Cooperative 

5 Board and the Corporation Board. 

6 (D) TERMINATION.—The Initial Board of 

7 Directors shall terminate on the date on which 

8 the initial members of the Cooperative Board 

9 are appointed under paragraph (2). 

10 (2) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors 

12 of the Cooperative shall be comprised of 9 

13 members, to be selected in accordance with the 

14 bylaws of the Cooperative established under 

15 paragraph (1)(B)(i), of whom— 

16 (i) 5 members shall be consumer 

17 members; 

18 (ii) 2 members shall be supplier mem19 bers; 

20 (iii) 1 member shall represent an ad21 vocacy group for defense contractors, other 

22 rare earth consumers, and suppliers who 

23 are not represented by the Board or 

24 through direct ownership in the Coopera25 tive; and 


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1 (iv) 1 member shall be the member of 

2 the Initial Board of Directors appointed 

3 under paragraph (1)(A)(v). 

4 (B) POWERS.—The Cooperative Board 

5 may— 

6 (i) prescribe the manner in which 

7 business shall be conducted by the Cooper8 ative; 

9 (ii) determine pay-out ratio formulas 

10 for consumer members and supplier mem11 bers, based on— 

12 (I) the capital stock ratios of 

13 consumer members; and 

14 (II) the value of supply member 

15 contracts, as determined based on the 

16 volume, term, and distributions of 

17 rare earth concentrates relative to 

18 processing costs; and 

19 (iii) evaluate technologies and proc20 esses for the efficient extraction and refin21 ing of rare earth materials from various 

22 thorium-bearing ores. 

23 (C) REFINERY AND OFFICE LOCATIONS.— 

24 The Cooperative Board shall establish the refin25 ery and offices for the Cooperative at any locaVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Feb 07, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2006.IS S2006

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1 tions determined to be appropriate by the Coop2 erative Board. 

3 (c) POWERS; DUTIES.— 

4 (1) INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS.—The Cooper5 ative shall seek to enter into domestic and inter6 national investment partnerships for the develop7 ment of the refinery. 

8 (2) AGREEMENTS; DIRECT SALES.—The Coop9 erative may— 

10 (A) enter into equity, financial, and sup11 ply-based agreements or arrangements with 

12 value-added intermediaries, equipment manu13 facturers, consumers of rare earth products, 

14 and Federal, State, or local agencies to provide 

15 economic incentives, leases, or public financing; 

16 and 

17 (B) engage in direct market sales of rare 

18 earth products. 

19 (3) SUPPLY CONTRACTS AND TOLLING SERV20 ICES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Cooperative may— 

22 (i) directly purchase rare earth mate23 rials obtained from any byproduct pro24 ducers of rare earths; 


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1 (ii) transport those materials in ac2 cordance with part 40 of title 10, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations (or any corresponding 

4 similar regulation or ruling); 

5 (iii) offer supplier members short6 term or direct purchase contracts; and 

7 (iv) allow primary rare earth pro8 ducers to be tolling customers of the Coop9 erative. 

10 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A tolling customer 

11 under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall— 

12 (i) retain control of the rare earth 

13 products during the processing, refining, or 

14 value adding of the rare earth products by 

15 the Cooperative; and 

16 (ii) take possession of the rare earth 

17 products after— 

18 (I) tolling services are rendered 

19 by the Cooperative; and 

20 (II) the Cooperative has received 

21 payment in full for the tolling services 

22 rendered. 

23 (C) FEE.—The Cooperative may charge 

24 tolling customers under subparagraph (A)(iii) a 

25 tolling fee not to exceed the sum of— 


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1 (i) the amount equal to 110 percent of 

2 the total cost for tolling services rendered 

3 by the Cooperative on behalf of the tolling 

4 customer; and 

5 (ii) the amount equal to 5 percent of 

6 the market value of the finished product 

7 provided to the tolling customer by the Co8 operative. 

9 (D) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any contract 

10 among consumer members, supplier members, 

11 tolling customers, and direct purchase suppliers 

12 entered into under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall 

13 be protected as provided in subsection 

14 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (E) LIMITATIONS.—A direct purchase con16 sumer under subparagraph (A)(ii) or a tolling 

17 customer under subparagraph (A)(iii)— 

18 (i) shall not be considered to be a sup19 plier member or otherwise be considered a 

20 member of the Cooperative for purposes of 

21 this Act; and 

22 (ii) shall not participate in Coopera23 tive profits or have voting rights with re24 spect to the Cooperative. 

25 (d) AUDITS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Cooperative shall retain 

2 an independent auditor to evaluate the extent to 

3 which Federal funds, if any, made available to the 

4 Cooperative for research and development activities 

5 have been expended in a manner that is consistent 

6 with the purposes of this Act and the charter, by7 laws, and rules of the Cooperative. 

8 (2) REPORTS.—The auditor retained under 

9 paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of De10 fense, the Cooperative, and the Comptroller General 

11 of the United States an annual report containing the 

12 findings and determinations of the auditor. 

13 (3) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The 

14 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

15 (A) review each annual report submitted to 

16 the Comptroller General by the auditor under 

17 paragraph (2); and 

18 (B) submit to the Committee on Armed 

19 Services of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

21 a report containing the comments of the Comp22 troller General on the accuracy and complete23 ness of the report and any other matters relat24 ing to the report that the Comptroller General 

25 considers appropriate. 


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1 (e) REIMBURSEMENT OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.— 

2 Not later than 7 years of the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act, the Cooperative shall reimburse the Federal Gov4 ernment for administrative costs associated with the es5 tablishment of its charter. 

6 SEC. 5. THORIUM STORAGE, ENERGY, AND INDUSTRIAL 

7 PRODUCTS CORPORATION. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Coopera11 tive Board, in consultation with the Secretary of De12 fense, shall establish the Thorium Storage, Energy, 

13 and Industrial Products Corporation to develop uses 

14 and markets for thorium, including energy. 

15 (2) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The Corporation 

16 shall operate under a Federal charter. 

17 (b) MANAGEMENT.— 

18 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors 

20 of the Corporation shall be composed of 5 mem21 bers. 

22 (B) INITIAL MEMBERS.—The initial mem23 bers of the Corporation Board shall consist of 

24 the following members, to be appointed by the 

25 Secretary of Defense: 


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1 (i) 1 member, who shall represent the 

2 Assistant Secretary of Defense for Re3 search and Engineering. 

4 (ii) 1 member, who shall represent the 

5 Advanced Energy Program of the Defense 

6 Advanced Research Project Agency. 

7 (iii) 1 member, who shall represent 

8 United States advocacy groups for com9 mercial development of thorium in nuclear 

10 energy systems. 

11 (iv) 1 member, who shall represent a 

12 national laboratory. 

13 (v) 1 member, who is the member of 

14 the Initial Board of Directors appointed 

15 under section 4(b)(1)(A)(v). 

16 (C) SUBSEQUENT MEMBERS.—Subject to 

17 subparagraphs (A) and (D), subsequent mem18 bers of the Corporation Board and Executive 

19 Committee shall be appointed in accordance 

20 with the bylaws of the Corporation established 

21 under paragraph (2)(B)(i). 

22 (D) STANDING MEMBERS.—The initial 

23 members appointed under clauses (iv) and (v) 

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1 poration Board and the Executive Committee, 

2 until such time as— 

3 (i) the members voluntarily resign; 

4 (ii) in the case of a member appointed 

5 under subparagraph (B)(iv), a majority of 

6 the members of the Corporation Board 

7 vote to remove the member from the Cor8 poration Board; or 

9 (iii) in the case of a member ap10 pointed under subparagraph (B)(v), a ma11 jority of the members of the Corporation 

12 Board and a majority of the members of 

13 the Cooperative Board vote to remove the 

14 member from the Corporation Board and 

15 the Cooperative Board. 

16 (2) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Com18 mittee for the Corporation shall be composed of 

19 the initial members of the Corporation Board 

20 appointed under clauses (iv) and (v) of para21 graph (1)(B). 

22 (B) DUTIES.—The Executive Committee 

23 shall— 


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1 (i) establish the charter, rules of gov2 ernance, bylaws, and corporate structure 

3 for the Corporation; and 

4 (ii) make formative business decisions 

5 with respect to the Corporation. 

6 (c) POWERS.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBSEQUENT ENTI8 TIES.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation may 

10 establish 1 or more entities, to be known as an 

11 ‘‘Industrial Products Corporation’’, for the cer12 tification, licensing, insuring, and commercial 

13 development of all non-energy uses for thorium 

14 (including thorium isotopes and thorium daugh15 ter elements), including— 

16 (i) alloys; 

17 (ii) catalysts; 

18 (iii) medical isotopes; and 

19 (iv) other products. 

20 (B) AUTHORITY OF ENTITIES.—The enti21 ties described in subparagraph (A) may— 

22 (i) develop standards, procedures, and 

23 protocols for the approval of commercial 

24 and industrial applications for thorium; 


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1 (ii) carry out directly the production 

2 and sale of thorium-related non-energy 

3 products; and 

4 (iii) sell or license any production or 

5 sales rights to third parties. 

6 (C) SALE OR DISTRIBUTION OF INDUS7 TRIAL PRODUCTS CORPORATION; CREATION OF

8 BUSINESSES AND PARTNERSHIPS.—To develop 

9 and commercialize non-energy uses for thorium, 

10 the Corporation Board may— 

11 (i) create, sell, or distribute the equity 

12 of an entity described in subparagraph (A); 

13 and 

14 (ii) establish partnerships with Fed15 eral agencies, foreign governments, and 

16 private entities relating to businesses and 

17 activities of the entity. 

18 (2) SALE OR DISTRIBUTION OF CORPORATION

19 EQUITY; CREATION OF PARTNERSHIPS.—To develop 

20 and commercialize thorium energy, the Corporation 

21 may sell or distribute equity and establish partner22 ships with the United States and foreign govern23 ments and private entities— 

24 (A) to create capital; 

25 (B) to develop intellectual property; 


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1 (C) to acquire technology; 

2 (D) to establish business partnerships and 

3 raw material supply chains; 

4 (E) to commercially develop thorium en5 ergy systems; 

6 (F) to commercially develop systems for 

7 the reduction of spent fuel; 

8 (G) to develop hardened energy systems 

9 for the United States military; and 

10 (H) to develop process heat technologies 

11 systems for coal-to-liquid fuel separation, desa12 linization, chemical synthesis, and other appli13 cations. 

14 (d) DUTIES.— 

15 (1) OWNERSHIP OF THORIUM AND RELATED

16 ACTINIDES.—The Corporation shall— 

17 (A) on a preprocessing basis, assume liabil18 ity for and ownership of all thorium and 

19 mineralogically associated or related actinides 

20 and decay products contained within the mona21 zite and other rare earth mineralizations in the 

22 possession of the Cooperative; 

23 (B) after the Cooperative has separated 

24 the thorium from the rare earth concentrates, 

25 take physical possession and safely store all 


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1 thorium-containing actinide byproducts, with 

2 the costs of the storage to be paid by the Cor3 poration from fees charged or revenue from 

4 sales of other valuable actinides; 

5 (C) develop new markets and uses for tho6 rium; 

7 (D) develop energy systems from thorium; 

8 and 

9 (E) develop, manage, and control national 

10 and international energy leasing and distribu11 tion platforms related to thorium energy sys12 tems. 

13 (2) SAFE, LONG-TERM STORAGE; DEVELOP14 MENT OF USES AND MARKETS.—The Corporation 

15 shall— 

16 (A) in consultation with the Administrator 

17 of the Environmental Protection Agency and 

18 the Secretary of Energy, be responsible for the 

19 safe, long-term storage for all thorium and tho20 rium decay products generated through the Co21 operative, consistent with part 192 of title 40, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act), while taking 

24 into account the low relative risks relating to 

25 thorium; and 


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1 (B) develop uses and markets for thorium, 

2 including energy, including by coordinating and 

3 structuring domestic and international invest4 ment partnerships for the development of com5 mercial and industrial uses for thorium. 

6 (e) AUDITS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall retain 

8 an independent auditor to evaluate the extent to 

9 which Federal funds, if any, made available to the 

10 Corporation for research and development activities 

11 have been expended in a manner that is consistent 

12 with the purposes of this Act and the charter, by13 laws, and rules of the Corporation. 

14 (2) REPORTS.—The auditor retained under 

15 paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of De16 fense, the Corporation, and the Comptroller General 

17 of the United States an annual report containing the 

18 findings and determinations of the auditor. 

19 (3) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The 

20 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

21 (A) review each annual report submitted to 

22 the Comptroller General by the auditor under 

23 paragraph (2); and 

24 (B) submit to the Committee on Armed 

25 Services of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

2 a report containing the comments of the Comp3 troller General on the accuracy and complete4 ness of the report and any other matters relat5 ing to the report that the Comptroller General 

6 considers appropriate. 

7 (f) REIMBURSEMENT OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.— 

8 Not later than 7 years of the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act, the Corporation shall reimburse the Federal Gov10 ernment for administrative costs associated with the es11 tablishment of its charter. 

12 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE. 

13 (a) ADVANCEMENT OF RARE EARTH INITIATIVES.— 

14 The Secretary shall coordinate with other Federal agencies 

15 to advance and protect— 

16 (1) domestic rare earth mining; 

17 (2) the refining of rare earth elements; 

18 (3) basic rare earth metals production; and 

19 (4) the development and commercialization of 

20 thorium, including— 

21 (A) energy technologies and products; and 

22 (B) products containing thorium. 

23 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 


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1 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

2 that, for the period covered by the report— 

3 (1) contains a description of the progress in the 

4 development of— 

5 (A) a domestic rare earth refining capac6 ity; and 

7 (B) commercial uses and energy-related 

8 uses for thorium; and 

9 (2) takes into account each report submitted to 

10 the Secretary by the Cooperative and the Corpora11 tion. 

12 (c) FEDERAL AGENCIES; NATIONAL LABORA13 TORIES.—Each Federal agency (including the Nuclear 

14 Regulatory Commission and the Defense Advanced Re15 search Projects Agency), each national laboratory, and 

16 each facility funded by the Federal Government shall pro17 vide assistance to the Cooperative and the Corporation 

18 under this Act. 

19 (d) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Each 

20 institution of higher education is encouraged— 

21 (1) to develop training and national expertise in 

22 the field of thorium development; and 

23 (2) to promote— 

24 (A) the marketing of thorium; 


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1 (B) the advancement of the strategic uses 

2 of thorium; and 

3 (C) salt chemistry science and radio chem4 ists. 

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO 

6 ESTABLISH EQUITY STAKE IN COOPERATIVE. 

7 The Secretary may acquire and maintain a 10 per8 cent equity stake in the Cooperative in accordance with 

9 the provisions of the Strategic and Critical Materials 

10 Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.) for the purpose 

11 of accessing strategic rare earth materials and eliminating 

12 the need to acquire such materials under that Act. 

Æ 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS