I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2011 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of the 

capability of the Nation to meet our current and future demands for 

the minerals critical to United States manufacturing competitiveness 

and economic and national security in a time of expanding resource 

nationalism, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2011 

Mr. LAMBORN (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. 

BISHOP of Utah, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. THOMPSON of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. RIVERA, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. 

FLEISCHMANN, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. BOREN, Mr. 

SIMPSON, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. 

MATHESON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of the capability of the Nation to meet our current 

and future demands for the minerals critical to United 

States manufacturing competitiveness and economic and 

national security in a time of expanding resource nationalism, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Strategic and 

3 Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the availability of minerals and metals is es7 sential for economic growth, national security, tech8 nological innovation, and the manufacturing supply 

9 chain; 

10 (2) the exploration, production, processing, use, 

11 and recycling of minerals contribute significantly to 

12 the economic well-being, security, and general wel13 fare of the Nation; 

14 (3) the industrialization of China and India has 

15 driven demand for nonfuel mineral commodities, 

16 sparking a period of resource nationalism exempli17 fied by China’s reduction and stoppage of exports of 

18 rare-earth mineral elements necessary for tele19 communications, military technologies, medical de20 vices, and renewable energy technologies; 

21 (4) the United States has vast mineral re22 sources but is becoming increasingly dependent upon 

23 foreign sources; 

24 (5) 25 years ago the United States was depend25 ent on foreign sources for 30 nonfuel mineral mate26 rials, 6 of which were entirely imported to meet the 


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1 Nation’s requirements and another 16 of which were 

2 imported to meet more than 60 percent of the Na3 tion’s needs; 

4 (6) by 2010, United States import dependence 

5 for nonfuel mineral materials more than doubled 

6 from 30 to 67 commodities, 18 commodities were 

7 imported entirely to meet the Nation’s requirements, 

8 and another 25 commodities required imports of 

9 more than 50 percent; 

10 (7) it is essential to the national interest to en11 sure an expanding and competitive manufacturing 

12 industry built upon a healthy mining and minerals 

13 industry; 

14 (8) attracting investment necessary to maintain 

15 a competitive and growing mining industry requires 

16 a fair, predictable, and efficient regulatory frame17 work; 

18 (9) the United States lacks a coherent national 

19 policy to assure the availability of minerals essential 

20 to manufacturing, national economic well-being and 

21 security, and global economic competitiveness; and 

22 (10) the Nation’s ability to compete and inno23 vate requires proper planning and preparation today 

24 to meet tomorrow’s mineral needs. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the continuing policy of the 

3 United States to promote an adequate and stable supply 

4 of minerals to maintain our Nation’s economic well-being, 

5 security, and manufacturing, industrial, energy, and tech6 nological capabilities. 

7 (b) POLICY GOALS.—Implementation of the policy set 

8 forth in subsection (a) requires that the Federal Govern9 ment coordinate the Federal departments and agencies re10 sponsible for ensuring that supply, to— 

11 (1) facilitate the availability, development, and 

12 production of domestic mineral resources to meet 

13 national needs, including the demands of the Na14 tion’s manufacturing industry; 

15 (2) promote and encourage the development of 

16 economically sound and stable domestic mining, min17 erals, metals, and processing industries; 

18 (3) establish an assessment capability for iden19 tifying the mineral demands, supply, and needs of 

20 our Nation; and 

21 (4) minimize duplication, needless paperwork, 

22 and delays in the administration of Federal and 

23 State laws and regulations, and issuance of permits 

24 and authorizations necessary to explore, develop, and 

25 produce minerals and construct and operate mineral26 related facilities. 


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1 SEC. 4. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR REPORT ON ACCESS 

2 AND AUTHORIZATIONS FOR MINERAL DEVEL3 OPMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte6 rior, through the Bureau of Land Management and the 

7 United States Geological Survey, and in consultation with 

8 the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest Service 

9 Mineral and Geology Management Division), the Secretary 

10 of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of 

11 other appropriate Federal agencies, shall prepare, submit 

12 to Congress, and make available to the public a report that 

13 includes— 

14 (1) an assessment of the non-fossil-fuel mineral 

15 potential of lands under the jurisdiction of the Bu16 reau of Land Management and the Forest Service 

17 and an identification of all such lands that have 

18 been withdrawn, segregated, or otherwise restricted 

19 from mineral exploration and development; 

20 (2) an assessment of— 

21 (A) the mineral requirements to meet cur22 rent and emerging national security, economic, 

23 industrial manufacturing, technological, and so24 cial needs; 

25 (B) the Nation’s reliance on foreign 

26 sources to meet those needs; and 


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1 (C) the implications of mineral supply 

2 shortages or disruptions; 

3 (3) a detailed description of the time required 

4 to process mineral applications, operating plans, 

5 leases, licenses, permits, and other use authoriza6 tions for mineral-related activities on lands under 

7 the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management 

8 and the Forest Service, and identification of meas9 ures that would streamline the processing of such 

10 applications, such as elimination of overlapping re11 quirements or set deadlines; 

12 (4) an itemized list of all use authorizations re13 ferred to in paragraph (3) for which applications are 

14 pending before the Bureau of Land Management 

15 and the Forest Service, and the length of time each 

16 of those applications has been pending; 

17 (5) an assessment of the impact of litigation on 

18 processing or issuing mineral exploration and mine 

19 permits, identification of the statutes the litigation 

20 was brought under, and the cost to the agency or 

21 the Federal Government, including for payments of 

22 attorney fees; 

23 (6) an update of the 2009 Economic Impact of 

24 the Department of the Interior’s Programs and Ac25 tivities report to include locatable minerals; and 


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1 (7) an assessment of the Federal workforce 

2 with educational degrees and expertise in economic 

3 geology, geochemistry, mining, industrial minerals, 

4 metallurgy, metallurgical engineering, and mining 

5 engineering, including— 

6 (A) retirement eligibility and agency plans 

7 for retention, recruitment, and succession plan8 ning; 

9 (B) comparison of the existing Federal sal10 aries and recruitment and retention bonuses 

11 with the salaries, recruitment incentives, and 

12 retention packages normally offered in the min13 eral industry; and 

14 (C) examination of the differences between 

15 Federal and private financial packages for 

16 early-, mid-, and late-career workers. 

17 (b) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, and each year 

19 thereafter for the following two years, the Secretary of the 

20 Interior shall submit to Congress and make available to 

21 the public a report that describes the progress made in 

22 reaching the policy goals described in section 3(b), includ23 ing— 


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1 (1) efforts to increase access to domestic sup2 plies of minerals, and facilitation of their production; 

3 and 

4 (2) implementation of recommendations con5 tained in— 

6 (A) the National Research Council re7 ports— 

8 (i) Minerals, Critical Minerals, and 

9 the U.S. Economy; and 

10 (ii) Managing Minerals for a Twenty11 First Century Military; and 

12 (B) the current workforce study authorized 

13 in sections 385 and 1830 of the Energy Policy 

14 Act of 2005 (119 Stat. 744, 1137). 

15 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS. 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec17 retary of the Interior to carry out this Act $1,000,000 

18 for fiscal years 2012 and 2013. 

19 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATUTORY MINING 

20 POLICIES. 

21 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting 

22 any provision of or requirement under the Mining and 

23 Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a). 

Æ 


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