I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2184 

To establish the Rare Earth Policy Task Force, to direct the Secretary 

of the Interior to develop a plan to ensure the long-term supply of 

rare earth materials, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 15, 2011 

Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 establish the Rare Earth Policy Task Force, to direct 

the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan to ensure 

the long-term supply of rare earth materials, 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 ‘‘Rare Earth Policy 

5 Task Force and Materials Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Significant quantities of rare earths are 

2 used in the production of clean energy technologies, 

3 including advanced automotive propulsion batteries, 

4 electric motors, high-efficiency light bulbs, solar pan5 els, and wind turbines. These technologies are used 

6 to advance the United States energy policy of reduc7 ing dependence on foreign oil and decreasing green8 house gas emissions through expansion of cleaner 

9 sources of energy. 

10 (2) Many modern defense technologies such as 

11 radar and sonar systems, precision-guided weapons, 

12 cruise missiles, and lasers cannot be built, as de13 signed and specified, without the use of rare earths 

14 and materials produced from them. 

15 (3) Rare earths also provide core functionality 

16 to a variety of high technology applications in com17 puting, pollution abatement, power generation, water 

18 treatment, oil refining, metal alloying, communica19 tions, health care, agriculture, and other sectors. 

20 (4) Though at least 40 percent of the world’s 

21 rare earth reserves are located within the United 

22 States and its ally nations, our country now depends 

23 upon imports for nearly 100 percent of its rare earth 

24 needs. 


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1 SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE RARE EARTH DEVELOP2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

5 within the Department of the Interior a task force 

6 to be known as the ‘‘Rare Earth Policy Task Force’’ 

7 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’), 

8 which shall report to the President through the Sec9 retary of the Interior. 

10 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be 

11 composed of the following: 

12 (A) The Secretary of the Interior (or a 

13 designee of such Secretary), who shall serve as 

14 chair of the Task Force. 

15 (B) The Secretary of Energy (or a des16 ignee of such Secretary). 

17 (C) The Secretary of Agriculture (or a des18 ignee of such Secretary). 

19 (D) The Secretary of Defense (or a des20 ignee of such Secretary). 

21 (E) The Secretary of Commerce (or a des22 ignee of such Secretary). 

23 (F) The Secretary of State (or a designee 

24 of such Secretary). 


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1 (G) The Director of the Office of Manage2 ment and Budget (or a designee of the Direc3 tor). 

4 (H) The Chairman of the Council on Envi5 ronmental Quality (or a designee of the Chair6 man). 

7 (I) Such other members as the Secretary 

8 of the Interior considers appropriate. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall assist Federal 

10 agencies in reviewing laws (including regulations) and 

11 policies that discourage investment in, exploration for, and 

12 development of domestic rare earths pursuant to Federal 

13 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Act of 

14 June 4, 1897, the National Forest Management Act of 

15 1976, and any other applicable statutory authorities re16 lated to domestic mining operations. 

17 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—At least once each year, the 

18 Task Force shall submit to the President, the Committee 

19 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, the Com20 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep21 resentatives, and the Committee on Natural Resources of 

22 the House of Representatives a report that identifies the 

23 substantive and procedural requirements of Federal, 

24 State, tribal, and local laws (including regulations) and 

25 Executive orders that are inconsistent with, duplicative of, 


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1 or structured so as to restrict effective implementation of 

2 projects that will increase investment in, exploration for, 

3 and development of domestic rare earths. 

4 (d) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 

5 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 4. RARE EARTH MATERIALS PROGRAM PLAN. 

7 (a) PLAN.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act and biennially there10 after, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare and 

11 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

12 a plan for research, development, demonstration, 

13 and commercial application to ensure the long-term, 

14 secure, and sustainable supply of rare earth mate15 rials sufficient to satisfy the national security, eco16 nomic well-being, and industrial production needs of 

17 the United States. 

18 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall 

19 include a description of— 

20 (A) the research and development activities 

21 to be carried out under the plan during the sub22 sequent 2 years; 

23 (B) the expected contributions of those ac24 tivities to the creation of innovative methods 

25 and technologies for the efficient and sustainVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:22 Jun 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2184.IH H2184

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1 able provision of rare earth materials to the do2 mestic economy; and 

3 (C) how the plan will promote the broadest 

4 possible participation in those activities by aca5 demic, industrial, and other contributors. 

6 (3) CONSULTATION.—In preparing each plan 

7 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior 

8 shall consult with appropriate representatives of in9 dustry, institutions of higher education, Department 

10 of Energy national laboratories, professional and 

11 technical societies, and other entities, as determined 

12 by the Secretary. 

13 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The plan shall support activities 

14 to— 

15 (1) better characterize and quantify virgin 

16 stocks of rare earth materials using theoretical geo17 chemical research; 

18 (2) explore, discover, and recover rare earth 

19 materials using advanced science and technology; 

20 (3) improve methods for the extraction, proc21 essing, use, recovery, and recycling of rare earth ma22 terials; 

23 (4) improve the understanding of the perform24 ance, processing, and adaptability in engineering de25 signs of rare earth materials; 


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1 (5) identify and test alternative materials that 

2 can be substituted for rare earth materials in par3 ticular applications; 

4 (6) engineer and test applications that— 

5 (A) use recycled rare earth materials; 

6 (B) use alternative materials; or 

7 (C) seek to minimize rare earth materials 

8 content; 

9 (7) collect, catalogue, archive, and disseminate 

10 information on rare earth materials, including sci11 entific and technical data generated by the research 

12 and development activities supported under the plan, 

13 and assist scientists and engineers in making the 

14 fullest possible use of the data holdings; and 

15 (8) facilitate information sharing and collabora16 tion among program participants and stakeholders. 

17 (c) IMPROVED PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGIES.—To 

18 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of the Inte19 rior shall support new or significantly improved processes 

20 and technologies as compared to those currently in use 

21 in the rare earth materials industry. 

22 (d) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary of 

23 the Interior shall encourage— 

24 (1) multidisciplinary collaborations among par25 ticipants in activities under the plan; and 


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1 (2) extensive opportunities for students at insti2 tutions of higher education, including institutions 

3 listed under section 371(a) of the Higher Education 

4 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

5 (e) CONSISTENCY.—The plan shall be consistent with 

6 the policies and programs in the National Materials and 

7 Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 

8 (30 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

9 (f) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—In carrying 

10 out activities under the plan, the Secretary of the Interior 

11 may collaborate, to the extent practicable, on activities of 

12 mutual interest with the relevant agencies of foreign coun13 tries with interests relating to rare earth materials. 

Æ 


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