II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 383 

To promote the domestic production of critical minerals and materials, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2011 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To promote the domestic production of critical minerals and 

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 ‘‘Critical Minerals and 

5 Materials Promotion Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF CRITICAL MINERALS AND MATE7 RIALS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘critical minerals 

10 and materials’’ means naturally occurring, nonliving, 


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1 nonfuel substances with a definite chemical composi2 tion— 

3 (A) that perform an essential function for 

4 which no satisfactory substitutes exist; and 

5 (B) the supply of which has a high prob6 ability of becoming restricted, leading to phys7 ical unavailability or excessive costs for the ap8 plicable minerals and materials in key applica9 tions. 

10 (2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘critical minerals 

11 and materials’’ does not include ice, water, or snow. 

12 SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO DETERMINE PRESENCE OF AND FU13 TURE NEEDS FOR CRITICAL MINERALS AND 

14 MATERIALS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, act16 ing through the United States Geological Survey, shall es17 tablish a research and development program— 

18 (1) to provide data and scientific analyses for 

19 research on, and assessments of the potential for, 

20 undiscovered and discovered resources of critical 

21 minerals and materials in the United States and 

22 other countries; and 

23 (2) to analyze and assess current and future 

24 critical minerals and materials supply chains— 


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1 (A) with advice from the Energy Informa2 tion Administration on future energy technology 

3 market penetration; and 

4 (B) using the Mineral Commodity Sum5 maries produced by the United States Geologi6 cal Survey. 

7 (b) GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN.—The Secretary shall, if 

8 appropriate, cooperate with international partners to en9 sure that the program established under subsection (a) 

10 provides analyses of the global supply chain of critical 

11 minerals and materials. 

12 SEC. 4. PROGRAM TO STRENGTHEN THE DOMESTIC CRIT13 ICAL MINERALS AND MATERIALS SUPPLY 

14 CHAIN FOR CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES. 

15 The Secretary of Energy shall conduct a program of 

16 research, development, and demonstration to strengthen 

17 the domestic critical minerals and materials supply chain 

18 for clean energy technologies and to ensure the long-term, 

19 secure, and sustainable supply of critical minerals and ma20 terials sufficient to strengthen the national security of the 

21 United States and meet the clean energy production needs 

22 of the United States, including— 

23 (1) critical minerals and materials production, 

24 processing, and refining; 


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1 (2) minimization of critical minerals and mate2 rials in energy technologies; 

3 (3) recycling of critical minerals and materials; 

4 and 

5 (4) substitutes for critical minerals and mate6 rials in energy technologies. 

7 SEC. 5. STRENGTHENING EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN 

8 MINERAL AND MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGI9 NEERING FOR CRITICAL MINERALS AND MA10 TERIALS PRODUCTION. 

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

12 promote the development of the critical minerals and ma13 terials industry workforce in the United States. 

14 (b) SUPPORT.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

15 Secretary shall support— 

16 (1) critical minerals and materials education by 

17 providing undergraduate and graduate scholarships 

18 and fellowships at institutions of higher education, 

19 including technical and community colleges; 

20 (2) partnerships between industry and institu21 tions of higher education, including technical and 

22 community colleges, to provide onsite job training; 

23 and 

24 (3) development of courses and curricula on 

25 critical minerals and materials. 


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1 SEC. 6. SUPPLY OF CRITICAL MINERALS AND MATERIALS. 

2 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 

3 promote an adequate and stable supply of critical minerals 

4 and materials necessary to maintain national security, eco5 nomic well-being, and industrial production with appro6 priate attention to a long-term balance between resource 

7 production, energy use, a healthy environment, natural re8 sources conservation, and social needs. 

9 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To implement the policy de10 scribed in subsection (a), the President, acting through 

11 the Executive Office of the President, shall— 

12 (1) coordinate the actions of applicable Federal 

13 agencies; 

14 (2) identify critical minerals and materials 

15 needs and establish early warning systems for crit16 ical minerals and materials supply problems; 

17 (3) establish a mechanism for the coordination 

18 and evaluation of Federal critical minerals and ma19 terials programs, including programs involving re20 search and development, in a manner that com21 plements related efforts carried out by the private 

22 sector and other domestic and international agencies 

23 and organizations; 

24 (4) promote and encourage private enterprise in 

25 the development of economically sound and stable 


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1 domestic critical minerals and materials supply 

2 chains; 

3 (5) promote and encourage the recycling of crit4 ical minerals and materials, taking into account the 

5 logistics, economic viability, environmental sustain6 ability, and research and development needs for 

7 completing the recycling process; 

8 (6) assess the need for and make recommenda9 tions concerning the availability and adequacy of the 

10 supply of technically trained personnel necessary for 

11 critical minerals and materials research, develop12 ment, extraction, and industrial practice, with a par13 ticular focus on the problem of attracting and main14 taining high-quality professionals for maintaining an 

15 adequate supply of critical minerals and materials; 

16 and 

17 (7) report to Congress on activities and findings 

18 under this subsection. 

19 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this Act such sums as are necessary. 

Æ 


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