I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4883 

To provide for the establishment of a National Rare-Earth Refinery 

Cooperative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 17, 2014 

Mr. STOCKMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

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 ing: 

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 

7 process of multiple United States weapons systems. 

8 (3) China has leveraged its monopoly control 

9 over the rare-earth value chain to force American, 

10 European, Japanese, and Korean corporations to 

11 transfer manufacturing facilities, technology, and 

12 jobs to China in exchange for secure supply con13 tracts. 

14 (4) China’s increasingly aggressive mercantilist 

15 behavior has resulted in involuntary transfers of 

16 technology, manufacturing facilities, and jobs as well 

17 as onerous trade imbalances with the United States 

18 and 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 the heavy rare-earth 

3 industry 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 is best met through the creation 

7 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 production and finan12 cial risks faced by rare-earth producers in the 

13 United States. 

14 (10) Historically, agricultural and electric co15 operatives have stood as some 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 rare19 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 thorium-utilizing technology. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

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

11 elements with atomic numbers of 89 or greater on 

12 the periodic table. 

13 (2) CONSUMER MEMBER.— 

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

15 member’’ means a member of the Cooperative 

16 that is— 

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

18 role in, the value chain for rare-earth ma19 terials or rare-earth products, including 

20 from the refined oxide state to the stage in 

21 which the rare-earth elements are finished 

22 in any physical or chemical form (including 

23 oxides, metals, alloys, catalysts, or compo24 nent); or 

25 (ii) a consumer of rare-earth products. 


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

2 member’’ includes— 

3 (i) a producer of or other entity that 

4 is part of the value chain for rare-earth 

5 materials, including original equipment 

6 manufacturer producers, whose place of 

7 business is located in or outside the United 

8 States; 

9 (ii) a defense contractor or contrac10 tors in the United States; and 

11 (iii) any government agency in the 

12 United States or outside the United States 

13 that invests in the Cooperative. 

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

15 means the Thorium-Bearing Rare-Earth Refinery 

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

17 (4) COOPERATIVE BOARD.—The term ‘‘Cooper18 ative Board’’ means the Board of Directors of the 

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

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

21 means the Thorium Storage, Energy, and Industrial 

22 Products Corporation established under section 

23 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 rare24 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 Rare18 Earth Refinery Cooperative’’, to provide for the do19 mestic processing of thorium-bearing rare-earth con20 centrates as residual unprocessed and unrefined 

21 ores, in accordance with 10 CFR 40.12 and 13b as 

22 it relates to the Cooperative. 

23 (2) FEDERAL CHARTER; OWNERSHIP.—The Co24 operative shall operate under a Federal charter. 

25 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (A) COMPOSITION.—The Cooperative shall 

2 comprise— 

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 provide rare-earth concentrates 

10 to the Cooperative at market price. 

11 (ii) CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Any 

12 supplier member that makes significant 

13 capital contributions to the Cooperative, as 

14 determined by the Cooperative Board, may 

15 become a consumer member for purposes 

16 of the distribution of profits of the Cooper17 ative under subparagraph (D). 

18 (C) CONSUMER MEMBER.—A consumer 

19 member— 

20 (i) shall make capital contributions to 

21 the Cooperative in exchange for entering 

22 into negotiated supply agreements; and 

23 (ii) in accordance with the agreements 

24 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 five 

14 members, of whom— 

15 (i) one member shall represent the 

16 Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Mate17 rials program of the Department of De18 fense; 

19 (ii) one member shall represent the 

20 Assistant Secretary of Defense for Re21 search and Engineering; 

22 (iii) one member shall represent 

23 United States advocacy groups for rare24 earth producers and original equipment 

25 manufacturing interests; 


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1 (iv) one member shall represent the 

2 United States Geological Survey; and 

3 (v) one 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 the 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 comprise nine mem13 bers, to be selected in accordance with the by14 laws of the Cooperative established under para15 graph (1)(B)(i), of whom— 

16 (i) five members shall be consumer 

17 members; 

18 (ii) two members shall be supplier 

19 members; 

20 (iii) one member shall represent an 

21 advocacy group for defense contractors, 

22 other rare-earth consumers, and suppliers 

23 who are not represented by the Board or 

24 through direct ownership in the Coopera25 tive; and 


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1 (iv) one member shall be the member 

2 of 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 03:09 Jun 21, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4883.IH H4883

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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, or 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 rare18 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 as un2 processed and unrefined ores, in accord3 ance with part 40 of title 10, Code of Fed4 eral Regulations (parts 12–13b, or any 

5 corresponding similar regulation or ruling); 

6 (iii) offer non-member supplier short7 term or direct purchase contracts; and 

8 (iv) allow primary rare-earth pro9 ducers to be tolling customers of the Coop10 erative. 

11 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A tolling customer 

12 under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall— 

13 (i) retain control of the rare-earth 

14 products during the processing, refining, or 

15 value adding of the rare-earth products by 

16 the Cooperative; and 

17 (ii) take possession of the rare-earth 

18 products after— 

19 (I) tolling services are rendered 

20 by the Cooperative; and 

21 (II) the Cooperative has received 

22 payment in full for the tolling services 

23 rendered. 


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1 (C) FEE.—The Cooperative may charge 

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

3 tolling fee not to exceed the sum of— 

4 (i) the amount equal to 110 percent of 

5 the total cost for tolling services rendered 

6 by the Cooperative on behalf of the tolling 

7 customer; and 

8 (ii) the amount equal to five percent 

9 of the market value of the finished product 

10 provided to the tolling customer by the Co11 operative. 

12 (D) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any contract 

13 among consumer members, supplier members, 

14 tolling customers, and direct purchase suppliers 

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

16 be protected as provided in subsection 

17 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (E) LIMITATIONS.—A direct purchase non19 member supplier under subparagraph (A)(ii) or 

20 a tolling customer under subparagraph 

21 (A)(iii)— 

22 (i) shall not be considered to be a sup23 plier member or otherwise be considered a 

24 member of the Cooperative for purposes of 

25 this Act; and 


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1 (ii) shall not participate in Coopera2 tive profits or have voting rights with re3 spect to the Cooperative. 

4 (d) AUDITS.— 

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

6 an independent auditor to evaluate the extent to 

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

8 Cooperative for research and development activities 

9 have been expended in a manner that is consistent 

10 with the purposes of this Act and the charter, by11 laws, and rules of governance of the Cooperative. 

12 (2) REPORTS.—The auditor retained under 

13 paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of De14 fense, the Cooperative, and the Comptroller General 

15 of the United States an annual report containing the 

16 findings and determinations of the auditor. 

17 (3) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The 

18 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

19 (A) review each annual report submitted to 

20 the Comptroller General by the auditor under 

21 paragraph (2); and 

22 (B) submit to the Committee on Armed 

23 Services of the Senate and the Committee on 

24 Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

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1 troller General on the accuracy and complete2 ness of the report and any other matters relat3 ing to the report that the Comptroller General 

4 considers appropriate. 

5 (e) REIMBURSEMENT OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.— 

6 Not later than seven years following the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Cooperative shall reimburse the Fed8 eral Government for administrative costs associated with 

9 the establishment of its charter. 

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

11 PRODUCTS CORPORATION. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Coopera15 tive Board, in consultation with the Secretary of De16 fense, shall establish the Thorium Storage, Energy, 

17 and Industrial Products Corporation to develop uses 

18 and markets for thorium, including energy. 

19 (2) FEDERAL CHARTER.—The Corporation 

20 shall operate under a Federal charter. 

21 (b) MANAGEMENT.— 

22 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

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

24 of the Corporation shall comprise five members. 


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1 (B) INITIAL MEMBERS.—The initial mem2 bers of the Corporation Board shall consist of 

3 the following members, to be appointed by the 

4 Secretary of Defense: 

5 (i) one member, who shall represent 

6 the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Re7 search and Engineering; 

8 (ii) a J–7 who will represent the Di9 rector of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; 

10 (iii) one member, who shall represent 

11 United States advocacy groups for com12 mercial development of thorium in nuclear 

13 energy systems; 

14 (iv) one member, who shall represent 

15 a national laboratory; and 

16 (v) one member, who is the member of 

17 the Initial Board of Directors appointed 

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

19 (C) SUBSEQUENT MEMBERS.—Subject to 

20 subparagraphs (A) and (D), subsequent mem21 bers of the Corporation Board and Executive 

22 Committee shall be appointed in accordance 

23 with bylaws of the Corporation established 

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


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1 (D) STANDING MEMBERS.—The initial 

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

3 of subparagraph (B) shall remain on the Cor4 poration Board and the Executive Committee, 

5 until such time as— 

6 (i) the members voluntarily resign; 

7 (ii) in the case of a member appointed 

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

9 the members of the Corporation Board 

10 votes to remove the member from the Cor11 poration Board; or 

12 (iii) in the case of a member ap13 pointed under subparagraph (B)(v), a ma14 jority of the members of the Corporation 

15 Board votes to remove the member from 

16 the Corporation Board and the Cooperative 

17 Board. 

18 (2) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Com20 mittee for the Corporation shall comprise the 

21 initial members of the Corporation Board ap22 pointed under clauses (iv) and (v) of paragraph 

23 (1)(B). 

24 (B) DUTIES.—The Executive Committee 

25 shall— 


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1 (i) establish the charter, bylaws, rules 

2 of governance, and corporate structure for 

3 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 one or more entities, to be known as 

11 an ‘‘Industrial Products Corporation’’ for the 

12 certification, licensing, insuring, and commer13 cial development of all non-energy uses for tho14 rium (including thorium isotopes and thorium 

15 daughter 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, foreign governments, 

23 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 develop commercial thorium energy 

5 systems; 

6 (F) to develop commercial systems for the 

7 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) separate the thorium from the rare24 earth concentrates, take physical possession and 

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1 products, with the costs of the storage to be 

2 paid by the Corporation from fees charged or 

3 revenue from sales of other valuable actinides 

4 and decay products, and thus after— 

5 (i) develop new markets and uses for 

6 thorium; 

7 (ii) develop energy systems that utilize 

8 thorium; and 

9 (iii) develop, manage, and control na10 tional and international energy leasing and 

11 distribution platforms related to thorium 

12 energy systems. 

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 of 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, by coordinating and struc3 turing domestic and international investment 

4 partnerships for the development of commercial 

5 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 governance 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 seven years after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, the Corporation shall reimburse the Federal 

10 Government for the administrative costs associated with 

11 the establishment 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. AMENDMENT TO 10 U.S.C. 2533b, REQUIRING ONLY 

6 U.S. OR NATO MEMBER NATION RARE EARTH 

7 MATERIALS IN U.S. WEAPON SYSTEMS. 

8 (a) 10 U.S.C. 2533b(a) REQUIREMENT.—Shall be 

9 amended to add the following provision: ‘‘(3) Beginning 

10 January 1, 2020, all purchased or procured weapon sys11 tems must contain only U.S. or NATO member nation 

12 produced and sourced rare earth materials, metals, 

13 magnets, parts, and/or components. The inclusion of any 

14 rare earth materials that originate or pass through a non15 NATO member nation is prohibited. No waivers shall be 

16 granted unless the lead contractor seeking a waiver can 

17 demonstrate that it has pursued all possible corrective ac18 tions, including direct investment into the supply chain.’’. 

Æ 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS