IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6160 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To develop a rare earth materials program, to amend the 

National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and 

Development Act of 1980, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 

4 2010’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—RARE EARTH MATERIALS 

Sec. 101. Rare earth materials program. 

Sec. 102. Rare earth materials loan guarantee program. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS POLICY, 

RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 201. Amendments to National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research 

and Development Act of 1980. 

Sec. 202. Repeal. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate Congressional com11 mittees’’ means the Committee on Science and Tech12 nology of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor14 tation and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

15 Resources of the Senate. 

16 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

17 means the Department of Energy. 

18 (3) RARE EARTH MATERIALS.—The term ‘‘rare 

19 earth materials’’ means any of the following chemVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:37 Oct 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6160.RFS H6160

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1 ical elements in any of their physical forms or chem2 ical combinations: 

3 (A) Scandium. 

4 (B) Yttrium. 

5 (C) Lanthanum. 

6 (D) Cerium. 

7 (E) Praseodymium. 

8 (F) Neodymium. 

9 (G) Promethium. 

10 (H) Samarium. 

11 (I) Europium. 

12 (J) Gadolinium. 

13 (K) Terbium. 

14 (L) Dysprosium. 

15 (M) Holmium. 

16 (N) Erbium. 

17 (O) Thulium. 

18 (P) Ytterbium. 

19 (Q) Lutetium. 

20 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Energy. 

22 TITLE I—RARE EARTH 

23 MATERIALS 

24 SEC. 101. RARE EARTH MATERIALS PROGRAM. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

2 Department a program of research, development, 

3 demonstration, and commercial application to assure 

4 the long-term, secure, and sustainable supply of rare 

5 earth materials sufficient to satisfy the national se6 curity, economic well-being, and industrial produc7 tion needs of the United States. 

8 (2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The program shall 

9 support activities to— 

10 (A) better characterize and quantify virgin 

11 stocks of rare earth materials using theoretical 

12 geochemical research; 

13 (B) explore, discover, and recover rare 

14 earth materials using advanced science and 

15 technology; 

16 (C) improve methods for the extraction, 

17 processing, use, recovery, and recycling of rare 

18 earth materials; 

19 (D) improve the understanding of the per20 formance, processing, and adaptability in engi21 neering designs of rare earth materials; 

22 (E) identify and test alternative materials 

23 that can be substituted for rare earth materials 

24 in particular applications; 

25 (F) engineer and test applications that— 


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1 (i) use recycled rare earth materials; 

2 (ii) use alternative materials; or 

3 (iii) seek to minimize rare earth mate4 rials content; 

5 (G) collect, catalogue, archive, and dissemi6 nate information on rare earth materials, in7 cluding scientific and technical data generated 

8 by the research and development activities sup9 ported under this section, and assist scientists 

10 and engineers in making the fullest possible use 

11 of the data holdings; and 

12 (H) facilitate information sharing and col13 laboration among program participants and 

14 stakeholders. 

15 (3) IMPROVED PROCESSES AND TECH16 NOLOGIES.—To the maximum extent practicable, the 

17 Secretary shall support new or significantly im18 proved processes and technologies as compared to 

19 those currently in use in the rare earth materials in20 dustry. 

21 (4) EXPANDING PARTICIPATION.—The Sec22 retary shall encourage— 

23 (A) multidisciplinary collaborations among 

24 program participants; and 


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1 (B) extensive opportunities for students at 

2 institutions of higher education, including insti3 tutions listed under section 371(a) of the High4 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 1067q(a)). 

6 (5) CONSISTENCY.—The program shall be con7 sistent with the policies and programs in the Na8 tional Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and 

9 Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

10 (6) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—In car11 rying out the program, the Secretary may collabo12 rate, to the extent practicable, on activities of mu13 tual interest with the relevant agencies of foreign 

14 countries with interests relating to rare earth mate15 rials. 

16 (b) PLAN.— 

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

18 date of enactment of this Act and biennially there19 after, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the 

20 appropriate Congressional committees a plan to 

21 carry out the program established under subsection 

22 (a). 

23 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall 

24 include a description of— 


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1 (A) the research and development activities 

2 to be carried out by the program during the 

3 subsequent 2 years; 

4 (B) the expected contributions of the pro5 gram to the creation of innovative methods and 

6 technologies for the efficient and sustainable 

7 provision of rare earth materials to the domes8 tic economy; 

9 (C) the criteria to be used to evaluate ap10 plications for loan guarantees under section 

11 1706 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; 

12 (D) any projects receiving loan guarantee 

13 support under such section and the status of 

14 such projects; 

15 (E) how the program is promoting the 

16 broadest possible participation by academic, in17 dustrial, and other contributors; and 

18 (F) actions taken or proposed that reflect 

19 recommendations from the assessment con20 ducted under subsection (c) or the Secretary’s 

21 rationale for not taking action pursuant to any 

22 recommendation from such assessment for 

23 plans submitted following the completion of the 

24 assessment under such subsection. 


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1 (3) CONSULTATION.—In preparing each plan 

2 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 

3 with appropriate representatives of industry, institu4 tions of higher education, Department of Energy na5 tional laboratories, professional and technical soci6 eties, and other entities, as determined by the Sec7 retary. 

8 (c) ASSESSMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the program has been 

10 in operation for 4 years, the Secretary shall offer to 

11 enter into a contract with the National Academy of 

12 Sciences under which the National Academy shall 

13 conduct an assessment of the program under sub14 section (a). 

15 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The assessment shall include 

16 the recommendation of the National Academy of 

17 Sciences that the program should be— 

18 (A) continued, accompanied by a descrip19 tion of any improvements needed in the pro20 gram; or 

21 (B) terminated, accompanied by a descrip22 tion of the lessons learned from the execution of 

23 the program. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The assessment shall be 

2 made available to Congress and the public upon 

3 completion. 

4 SEC. 102. RARE EARTH MATERIALS LOAN GUARANTEE PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title XVII of the Energy Policy 

7 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1706. TEMPORARY PROGRAM FOR RARE EARTH MA10 TERIALS REVITALIZATION. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program estab12 lished in section 101 of the Rare Earths and Critical Ma13 terials Revitalization Act of 2010, the Secretary is author14 ized, only to the extent provided in advance in a subse15 quent appropriations act, to make guarantees under this 

16 title for the commercial application of new or significantly 

17 improved technologies (compared to technologies currently 

18 in use in the United States at the time the guarantee is 

19 issued) for the following categories of projects: 

20 ‘‘(1) The separation and recovery of rare earth 

21 materials from ores or other sources. 

22 ‘‘(2) The preparation of rare earth materials in 

23 oxide, metal, alloy, or other forms needed for na24 tional security, economic well-being, or industrial 

25 production purposes. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The application of rare earth materials in 

2 the production of improved— 

3 ‘‘(A) magnets; 

4 ‘‘(B) batteries; 

5 ‘‘(C) refrigeration systems; 

6 ‘‘(D) optical systems; 

7 ‘‘(E) electronics; and 

8 ‘‘(F) catalysis. 

9 ‘‘(4) The application of rare earth materials in 

10 other uses, as determined by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(b) TIMELINESS.—The Secretary shall seek to mini12 mize delay in approving loan guarantee applications, con13 sistent with appropriate protection of taxpayer interests. 

14 ‘‘(c) COOPERATION.—To the maximum extent prac15 ticable, the Secretary shall cooperate with appropriate pri16 vate sector participants to achieve a complete rare earth 

17 materials production capability in the United States with18 in 5 years after the date of enactment of the Rare Earths 

19 and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010. 

20 ‘‘(d) DOMESTIC SUPPLY CHAIN.—In support of the 

21 objective in subsection (c) to achieve a rare earth materials 

22 production capability in the United States that includes 

23 the complete value chain described in paragraphs (1) 

24 through (4) of subsection (a), the Secretary may not 

25 award a guarantee for a project unless the project’s proVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:37 Oct 01, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6160.RFS H6160

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1 ponent provides to the Secretary an assurance that the 

2 loan or guarantee shall be used to support the separation, 

3 recovery, preparation, or manufacturing of rare earth ma4 terials in the United States for customers within the 

5 United States unless insufficient domestic demand for 

6 such materials results in excess capacity. 

7 ‘‘(e) SUNSET.—The authority to enter into guaran8 tees under this section shall expire on September 30, 

9 2015.’’. 

10 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

11 of contents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended 

12 by inserting after the item relating to section 1705 the 

13 following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1706. Temporary program for rare earth materials revitalization.’’. 

14 TITLE II—NATIONAL MATERIALS 

15 AND MINERALS POLICY, RE16 SEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT 

17 SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL MATERIALS AND 

18 MINERALS POLICY, RESEARCH AND DEVEL19 OPMENT ACT OF 1980. 

20 (a) PROGRAM PLAN.—Section 5 of the National Ma21 terials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development 

22 Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘date of enactment of this Act’’ 

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1 ment of the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Re2 vitalization Act of 2010’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Federal Co4 ordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and 

5 Technology’’ and inserting ‘‘National Science and 

6 Technology Council,’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘the Federal Emergency’’ 

9 and all that follows through ‘‘Agency, and’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘appropriate shall’’ and in11 serting ‘‘appropriate, shall’’; 

12 (C) by striking paragraph (1); 

13 (D) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘in the 

14 case’’ and all that follows through ‘‘sub15 section,’’; 

16 (E) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

17 paragraph (1); and 

18 (F) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) assess the adequacy, accessibility, and sta21 bility of the supply of materials necessary to main22 tain national security, economic well-being, and in23 dustrial production.’’; 

24 (4) by striking subsections (d) and (e); and 


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1 (5) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub2 section (d). 

3 (b) POLICY.—Section 3 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1602) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘The Congress declares that it’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘It’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘The Congress further declares 

8 that implementation’’ and inserting ‘‘Implementa9 tion’’. 

10 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 4 of such Act (30 

11 U.S.C. 1603) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘For the purpose’’ and all that 

13 follows through ‘‘declares that the’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘The’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘departments and agencies,’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘departments and agencies to imple17 ment the policies set forth in section 3’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. REPEAL. 

2 Title II of Public Law 98–373 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et 

3 seq.; 98 Stat. 1248), also known as the National Critical 

4 Materials Act of 1984, is repealed. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 29, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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