II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1317 

To facilitate the availability, development, and environmentally responsible 

production of domestic resources to meet national material or critical 

mineral needs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2019 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Ms. 

MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To facilitate the availability, development, and environmentally responsible production of domestic resources to 

meet national material or critical mineral needs, 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 ‘‘American Mineral Se5 curity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CRITICAL MINERAL.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘critical min2 eral’’ means any mineral, element, substance, or 

3 material designated as critical by the Secretary 

4 under section 4. 

5 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘critical 

6 mineral’’ does not include— 

7 (i) fuel minerals, including oil, natural 

8 gas, or any other fossil fuels; or 

9 (ii) water, ice, or snow. 

10 (2) CRITICAL MINERAL MANUFACTURING.—The 

11 term ‘‘critical mineral manufacturing’’ means— 

12 (A) the exploration, development, mining, 

13 production, processing, refining, alloying, sepa14 ration, concentration, magnetic sintering, melt15 ing, or beneficiation of critical minerals within 

16 the United States; 

17 (B) the fabrication, assembly, or produc18 tion, within the United States, of equipment, 

19 components, or other goods with energy tech20 nology-, defense-, agriculture-, consumer elec21 tronics-, or health care-related applications; or 

22 (C) any other value-added, manufacturing23 related use of critical minerals undertaken with24 in the United States. 


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1 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

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

6 the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

8 (A) a State; 

9 (B) the District of Columbia; 

10 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

11 (D) Guam; 

12 (E) American Samoa; 

13 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

14 Mariana Islands; and 

15 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 

16 SEC. 3. POLICY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National Mate18 rials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act 

19 of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1602) is amended in the second sen20 tence— 

21 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(3) establish an analytical and forecasting ca24 pability for identifying critical mineral demand, sup25 ply, and other factors to allow informed actions to 


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1 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price 

2 volatility, and prepare for demand growth and other 

3 market shifts;’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

5 the semicolon at the end; and 

6 (3) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(7) facilitate the availability, development, and 

9 environmentally responsible production of domestic 

10 resources to meet national material or critical min11 eral needs; 

12 ‘‘(8) avoid duplication of effort, prevent unnec13 essary paperwork, and minimize delays in the ad14 ministration of applicable laws (including regula15 tions) and the issuance of permits and authoriza16 tions necessary to explore for, develop, and produce 

17 critical minerals and to construct critical mineral 

18 manufacturing facilities in accordance with applica19 ble environmental and land management laws; 

20 ‘‘(9) strengthen— 

21 ‘‘(A) educational and research capabilities 

22 at not lower than the secondary school level; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) workforce training for exploration 

2 and development of critical minerals and critical 

3 mineral manufacturing; 

4 ‘‘(10) bolster international cooperation through 

5 technology transfer, information sharing, and other 

6 means; 

7 ‘‘(11) promote the efficient production, use, and 

8 recycling of critical minerals; 

9 ‘‘(12) develop alternatives to critical minerals; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(13) establish contingencies for the production 

12 of, or access to, critical minerals for which viable 

13 sources do not exist within the United States.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2(b) of the 

15 National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and De16 velopment Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601(b)) is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘(b) As used in this Act, the term’’ and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

20 ‘‘(1) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘critical 

21 mineral’ means any mineral, element, substance, or 

22 material designated as critical by the Secretary 

23 under section 4 of the American Mineral Security 

24 Act. 

25 ‘‘(2) MATERIALS.—The term’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. CRITICAL MINERAL DESIGNATIONS. 

2 (a) DRAFT METHODOLOGY AND LIST.—The Sec3 retary, acting through the Director of the United States 

4 Geological Survey (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec5 retary’’), shall publish in the Federal Register for public 

6 comment— 

7 (1) a description of the draft methodology used 

8 to identify a draft list of critical minerals; and 

9 (2) a draft list of minerals, elements, sub10 stances, and materials that qualify as critical min11 erals. 

12 (b) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—If available data is in13 sufficient to provide a quantitative basis for the method14 ology developed under this section, qualitative evidence 

15 may be used to the extent necessary. 

16 (c) FINAL METHODOLOGY AND LIST.—After review17 ing public comments on the draft methodology and the 

18 draft list of critical minerals published under subsection 

19 (a) and updating the methodology and list as appropriate, 

20 not later than 45 days after the date on which the public 

21 comment period with respect to the draft methodology and 

22 draft list closes, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal 

23 Register— 

24 (1) a description of the final methodology for 

25 determining which minerals, elements, substances, 

26 and materials qualify as critical minerals; and 


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1 (2) the final list of critical minerals. 

2 (d) DESIGNATIONS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying out 

4 this section, the Secretary shall maintain a list of 

5 minerals, elements, substances, and materials des6 ignated as critical, pursuant to the final method7 ology published under subsection (c), that the Sec8 retary determines— 

9 (A) are essential to the economic or na10 tional security of the United States; 

11 (B) the supply chain of which is vulnerable 

12 to disruption (including restrictions associated 

13 with foreign political risk, abrupt demand 

14 growth, military conflict, violent unrest, anti15 competitive or protectionist behaviors, and other 

16 risks throughout the supply chain); and 

17 (C) serve an essential function in the man18 ufacturing of a product (including energy tech19 nology-, defense-, currency-, agriculture-, con20 sumer electronics-, and health care-related ap21 plications), the absence of which would have 

22 significant consequences for the economic or na23 tional security of the United States. 

24 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Notwithstanding the criteria 

25 under subsection (c), the Secretary may designate 


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1 and include on the list any mineral, element, sub2 stance, or material determined by another Federal 

3 agency to be strategic and critical to the defense or 

4 national security of the United States. 

5 (3) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 

6 shall consult with the Secretaries of Defense, Com7 merce, Agriculture, and Energy and the United 

8 States Trade Representative in designating minerals, 

9 elements, substances, and materials as critical under 

10 this subsection. 

11 (e) SUBSEQUENT REVIEW.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, Ag14 riculture, and Energy and the United States Trade 

15 Representative, shall review the methodology and list 

16 under subsection (c) and the designations under sub17 section (d) at least every 3 years, or more frequently 

18 as the Secretary considers to be appropriate. 

19 (2) REVISIONS.—Subject to subsection (d)(1), 

20 the Secretary may— 

21 (A) revise the methodology described in 

22 this section; 

23 (B) determine that minerals, elements, 

24 substances, and materials previously determined 


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1 to be critical minerals are no longer critical 

2 minerals; and 

3 (C) designate additional minerals, ele4 ments, substances, or materials as critical min5 erals. 

6 (f) NOTICE.—On finalization of the methodology and 

7 the list under subsection (c), or any revision to the meth8 odology or list under subsection (e), the Secretary shall 

9 submit to Congress written notice of the action. 

10 SEC. 5. RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, in consultation with applica13 ble State (including geological surveys), local, academic, 

14 industry, and other entities, the Secretary shall complete 

15 a comprehensive national assessment of each critical min16 eral that— 

17 (1) identifies and quantifies known critical min18 eral resources, using all available public and private 

19 information and datasets, including exploration his20 tories; and 

21 (2) provides a quantitative and qualitative as22 sessment of undiscovered critical mineral resources 

23 throughout the United States, including probability 

24 estimates of tonnage and grade, using all available 


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1 public and private information and datasets, includ2 ing exploration histories. 

3 (b) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.—In carrying 

4 out this section, the Secretary may carry out surveys and 

5 field work (including drilling, remote sensing, geophysical 

6 surveys, topographical and geological mapping, and geo7 chemical sampling and analysis) to supplement existing in8 formation and datasets available for determining the exist9 ence of critical minerals in the United States. 

10 (c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Subject to applicable law, to 

11 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall make 

12 all data and metadata collected from the comprehensive 

13 national assessment carried out under subsection (a) pub14 lically and electronically accessible. 

15 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the 

16 Governor of a State or the head of an Indian tribe, the 

17 Secretary may provide technical assistance to State gov18 ernments and Indian tribes conducting critical mineral re19 source assessments on non-Federal land. 

20 (e) PRIORITIZATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may sequence 

22 the completion of resource assessments for each crit23 ical mineral such that critical minerals considered to 

24 be most critical under the methodology established 

25 under section 4 are completed first. 


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1 (2) REPORTING.—During the period beginning 

2 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act and ending on the date of completion of all 

4 of the assessments required under this section, the 

5 Secretary shall submit to Congress on an annual 

6 basis an interim report that— 

7 (A) identifies the sequence and schedule 

8 for completion of the assessments if the Sec9 retary sequences the assessments; or 

10 (B) describes the progress of the assess11 ments if the Secretary does not sequence the 

12 assessments. 

13 (f) UPDATES.—The Secretary may periodically up14 date the assessments conducted under this section based 

15 on— 

16 (1) the generation of new information or 

17 datasets by the Federal Government; or 

18 (2) the receipt of new information or datasets 

19 from critical mineral producers, State geological sur20 veys, academic institutions, trade associations, or 

21 other persons. 

22 (g) ADDITIONAL SURVEYS.—The Secretary shall 

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1 eral under section 4(e)(2) not later than 2 years after the 

2 designation of the mineral or element. 

3 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

5 Congress a report describing the status of geological sur6 veying of Federal land for any mineral commodity— 

7 (1) for which the United States was dependent 

8 on a foreign country for more than 25 percent of the 

9 United States supply, as depicted in the report 

10 issued by the United States Geological Survey enti11 tled ‘‘Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019’’; but 

12 (2) that is not designated as a critical mineral 

13 under section 4. 

14 SEC. 6. PERMITTING. 

15 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con16 gress that— 

17 (1) critical minerals are fundamental to the 

18 economy, competitiveness, and security of the United 

19 States; 

20 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the crit21 ical mineral needs of the United States should be 

22 satisfied by minerals responsibly produced and recy23 cled in the United States; and 


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1 (3) the Federal permitting process has been 

2 identified as an impediment to mineral production 

3 and the mineral security of the United States. 

4 (b) PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS.—To improve 

5 the quality and timeliness of decisions, the Secretary (act6 ing through the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage7 ment) and the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through 

8 the Chief of the Forest Service) (referred to in this section 

9 as the ‘‘Secretaries’’) shall, to the maximum extent prac10 ticable, with respect to critical mineral production on Fed11 eral land, complete Federal permitting and review proc12 esses with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, while 

13 supporting vital economic growth, by— 

14 (1) establishing and adhering to timelines and 

15 schedules for the consideration of, and final deci16 sions regarding, applications, operating plans, leases, 

17 licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for 

18 mineral-related activities on Federal land; 

19 (2) establishing clear, quantifiable, and tem20 poral permitting performance goals and tracking 

21 progress against those goals; 

22 (3) engaging in early collaboration among agen23 cies, project sponsors, and affected stakeholders— 

24 (A) to incorporate and address the inter25 ests of those parties; and 


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1 (B) to minimize delays; 

2 (4) ensuring transparency and accountability by 

3 using cost-effective information technology to collect 

4 and disseminate information regarding individual 

5 projects and agency performance; 

6 (5) engaging in early and active consultation 

7 with State, local, and Indian tribal governments to 

8 avoid conflicts or duplication of effort, resolve con9 cerns, and allow for concurrent, rather than sequen10 tial, reviews; 

11 (6) providing demonstrable improvements in the 

12 performance of Federal permitting and review proc13 esses, including lower costs and more timely deci14 sions; 

15 (7) expanding and institutionalizing permitting 

16 and review process improvements that have proven 

17 effective; 

18 (8) developing mechanisms to better commu19 nicate priorities and resolve disputes among agencies 

20 at the national, regional, State, and local levels; and 

21 (9) developing other practices, such as 

22 preapplication procedures. 

23 (c) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries 

25 shall submit to Congress a report that— 


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1 (1) identifies additional measures (including 

2 regulatory and legislative proposals, as appropriate) 

3 that would increase the timeliness of permitting ac4 tivities for the exploration and development of do5 mestic critical minerals; 

6 (2) identifies options (including cost recovery 

7 paid by permit applicants) for ensuring adequate 

8 staffing and training of Federal entities and per9 sonnel responsible for the consideration of applica10 tions, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 

11 other use authorizations for critical mineral-related 

12 activities on Federal land; 

13 (3) quantifies the amount of time typically re14 quired (including range derived from minimum and 

15 maximum durations, mean, median, variance, and 

16 other statistical measures or representations) to 

17 complete each step (including those aspects outside 

18 the control of the executive branch, such as judicial 

19 review, applicant decisions, or State and local gov20 ernment involvement) associated with the develop21 ment and processing of applications, operating 

22 plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use au23 thorizations for critical mineral-related activities on 

24 Federal land, which shall serve as a baseline for the 

25 performance metric under subsection (d); and 


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1 (4) describes actions carried out pursuant to 

2 subsection (b). 

3 (d) PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 90 days 

4 after the date of submission of the report under subsection 

5 (c), the Secretaries, after providing public notice and an 

6 opportunity to comment, shall develop and publish a per7 formance metric for evaluating the progress made by the 

8 executive branch to expedite the permitting of activities 

9 that will increase exploration for, and development of, do10 mestic critical minerals, while maintaining environmental 

11 standards. 

12 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning with the first 

13 budget submission by the President under section 1105 

14 of title 31, United States Code, after publication of the 

15 performance metric required under subsection (d), and an16 nually thereafter, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress 

17 a report that— 

18 (1) summarizes the implementation of rec19 ommendations, measures, and options identified in 

20 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c); 

21 (2) using the performance metric under sub22 section (d), describes progress made by the executive 

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1 ting of activities that will increase exploration for, 

2 and development of, domestic critical minerals; and 

3 (3) compares the United States to other coun4 tries in terms of permitting efficiency and any other 

5 criteria relevant to the globally competitive critical 

6 minerals industry. 

7 (f) INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—Using data from the 

8 Secretaries generated under subsection (e), the Director 

9 of the Office of Management and Budget shall prioritize 

10 inclusion of individual critical mineral projects on the 

11 website operated by the Office of Management and Budget 

12 in accordance with section 1122 of title 31, United States 

13 Code. 

14 (g) REPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA15 TION.—Not later than 1 year and 300 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 

17 Business Administration shall submit to the applicable 

18 committees of Congress a report that assesses the per19 formance of Federal agencies with respect to— 

20 (1) complying with chapter 6 of title 5, United 

21 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Regulatory 

22 Flexibility Act’’), in promulgating regulations appli23 cable to the critical minerals industry; and 

24 (2) performing an analysis of regulations appli25 cable to the critical minerals industry that may be 


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1 outmoded, inefficient, duplicative, or excessively bur2 densome. 

3 (h) APPLICATION.—Section 41001(6)(A) of the 

4 FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)) is amended in the 

5 matter preceding clause (i) by inserting ‘‘(including crit6 ical mineral manufacturing (as defined in section 2 of the 

7 American Mineral Security Act))’’ after ‘‘manufacturing’’. 

8 SEC. 7. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS. 

9 (a) DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.—Absent any extraor10 dinary circumstance, and except as otherwise required by 

11 law, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

12 ensure that each Federal Register notice described in sub13 section (b) shall be— 

14 (1) subject to any required reviews within the 

15 Department of the Interior or the Department of 

16 Agriculture; and 

17 (2) published in final form in the Federal Reg18 ister not later than 45 days after the date of initial 

19 preparation of the notice. 

20 (b) PREPARATION.—The preparation of Federal Reg21 ister notices required by law associated with the issuance 

22 of a critical mineral exploration or mine permit shall be 

23 delegated to the organizational level within the agency re24 sponsible for issuing the critical mineral exploration or 

25 mine permit. 


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1 (c) TRANSMISSION.—All Federal Register notices re2 garding official document availability, announcements of 

3 meetings, or notices of intent to undertake an action shall 

4 be originated in, and transmitted to the Federal Register 

5 from, the office in which, as applicable— 

6 (1) the documents or meetings are held; or 

7 (2) the activity is initiated. 

8 SEC. 8. RECYCLING, EFFICIENCY, AND ALTERNATIVES. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy (re10 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct 

11 a program of research and development— 

12 (1) to promote the efficient production, use, 

13 and recycling of critical minerals throughout the 

14 supply chain; and 

15 (2) to develop alternatives to critical minerals 

16 that do not occur in significant abundance in the 

17 United States. 

18 (b) COOPERATION.—In carrying out the program, the 

19 Secretary shall cooperate with appropriate— 

20 (1) Federal agencies and National Laboratories; 

21 (2) critical mineral producers; 

22 (3) critical mineral processors; 

23 (4) critical mineral manufacturers; 

24 (5) trade associations; 

25 (6) academic institutions; 


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1 (7) small businesses; and 

2 (8) other relevant entities or individuals. 

3 (c) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program, the Secretary 

4 shall carry out activities that include the identification and 

5 development of— 

6 (1) advanced critical mineral extraction, pro7 duction, separation, alloying, or processing tech8 nologies that decrease the energy consumption, envi9 ronmental impact, and costs of those activities, in10 cluding— 

11 (A) efficient water and wastewater man12 agement strategies; 

13 (B) technologies and management strate14 gies to control the environmental impacts of 

15 radionuclides in ore tailings; and 

16 (C) technologies for separation and proc17 essing; 

18 (2) technologies or process improvements that 

19 minimize the use, or lead to more efficient use, of 

20 critical minerals across the full supply chain; 

21 (3) technologies, process improvements, or de22 sign optimizations that facilitate the recycling of 

23 critical minerals, and options for improving the rates 

24 of collection of products and scrap containing critical 


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1 minerals from post-consumer, industrial, or other 

2 waste streams; 

3 (4) commercial markets, advanced storage 

4 methods, energy applications, and other beneficial 

5 uses of critical minerals processing byproducts; 

6 (5) alternative minerals, metals, and materials, 

7 particularly those available in abundance within the 

8 United States and not subject to potential supply re9 strictions, that lessen the need for critical minerals; 

10 and 

11 (6) alternative energy technologies or alter12 native designs of existing energy technologies, par13 ticularly those that use minerals that— 

14 (A) occur in abundance in the United 

15 States; and 

16 (B) are not subject to potential supply re17 strictions. 

18 (d) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec20 retary shall submit to Congress a report summarizing the 

21 activities, findings, and progress of the program. 

22 SEC. 9. ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING. 

23 (a) CAPABILITIES.—In order to evaluate existing crit24 ical mineral policies and inform future actions that may 

25 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price volaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317

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1 tility, and prepare for demand growth and other market 

2 shifts, the Secretary, in consultation with the Energy In3 formation Administration, academic institutions, and oth4 ers in order to maximize the application of existing com5 petencies related to developing and maintaining computer6 models and similar analytical tools, shall conduct and pub7 lish the results of an annual report that includes— 

8 (1) as part of the annually published Mineral 

9 Commodity Summaries from the United States Geo10 logical Survey, a comprehensive review of critical 

11 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat12 terns, including— 

13 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

14 domestically produced during the preceding 

15 year; 

16 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

17 domestically consumed during the preceding 

18 year; 

19 (C) market price data or other price data 

20 for each critical mineral; 

21 (D) an assessment of— 

22 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

23 meet the national security, energy, eco24 nomic, industrial, technological, and other 


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1 needs of the United States during the pre2 ceding year; 

3 (ii) the reliance of the United States 

4 on foreign sources to meet those needs 

5 during the preceding year; and 

6 (iii) the implications of any supply 

7 shortages, restrictions, or disruptions dur8 ing the preceding year; 

9 (E) the quantity of each critical mineral 

10 domestically recycled during the preceding year; 

11 (F) the market penetration during the pre12 ceding year of alternatives to each critical min13 eral; 

14 (G) a discussion of international trends as15 sociated with the discovery, production, con16 sumption, use, costs of production, prices, and 

17 recycling of each critical mineral as well as the 

18 development of alternatives to critical minerals; 

19 and 

20 (H) such other data, analyses, and evalua21 tions as the Secretary finds are necessary to 

22 achieve the purposes of this section; and 

23 (2) a comprehensive forecast, entitled the ‘‘An24 nual Critical Minerals Outlook’’, of projected critical 


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1 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat2 terns, including— 

3 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

4 projected to be domestically produced over the 

5 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

6 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

7 projected to be domestically consumed over the 

8 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

9 (C) an assessment of— 

10 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

11 meet projected national security, energy, 

12 economic, industrial, technological, and 

13 other needs of the United States; 

14 (ii) the projected reliance of the 

15 United States on foreign sources to meet 

16 those needs; and 

17 (iii) the projected implications of po18 tential supply shortages, restrictions, or 

19 disruptions; 

20 (D) the quantity of each critical mineral 

21 projected to be domestically recycled over the 

22 subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods; 

23 (E) the market penetration of alternatives 

24 to each critical mineral projected to take place 


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1 over the subsequent 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year 

2 periods; 

3 (F) a discussion of reasonably foreseeable 

4 international trends associated with the dis5 covery, production, consumption, use, costs of 

6 production, and recycling of each critical min7 eral as well as the development of alternatives 

8 to critical minerals; and 

9 (G) such other projections relating to each 

10 critical mineral as the Secretary determines to 

11 be necessary to achieve the purposes of this sec12 tion. 

13 (b) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—In preparing a re14 port described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall en15 sure, consistent with section 5(f) of the National Materials 

16 and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 

17 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604(f)), that— 

18 (1) no person uses the information and data 

19 collected for the report for a purpose other than the 

20 development of or reporting of aggregate data in a 

21 manner such that the identity of the person or firm 

22 who supplied the information is not discernible and 

23 is not material to the intended uses of the informa24 tion; 


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1 (2) no person discloses any information or data 

2 collected for the report unless the information or 

3 data has been transformed into a statistical or ag4 gregate form that does not allow the identification of 

5 the person or firm who supplied particular informa6 tion; and 

7 (3) procedures are established to require the 

8 withholding of any information or data collected for 

9 the report if the Secretary determines that with10 holding is necessary to protect proprietary informa11 tion, including any trade secrets or other confiden12 tial information. 

13 SEC. 10. EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE. 

14 (a) WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 

15 year and 300 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

16 the Secretary of Labor (in consultation with the Secretary, 

17 the Director of the National Science Foundation, institu18 tions of higher education with substantial expertise in 

19 mining, institutions of higher education with significant 

20 expertise in minerals research, including fundamental re21 search into alternatives, and employers in the critical min22 erals sector) shall submit to Congress an assessment of 

23 the domestic availability of technically trained personnel 

24 necessary for critical mineral exploration, development, as25 sessment, production, manufacturing, recycling, analysis, 


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1 forecasting, education, and research, including an analysis 

2 of— 

3 (1) skills that are in the shortest supply as of 

4 the date of the assessment; 

5 (2) skills that are projected to be in short sup6 ply in the future; 

7 (3) the demographics of the critical minerals in8 dustry and how the demographics will evolve under 

9 the influence of factors such as an aging workforce; 

10 (4) the effectiveness of training and education 

11 programs in addressing skills shortages; 

12 (5) opportunities to hire locally for new and ex13 isting critical mineral activities; 

14 (6) the sufficiency of personnel within relevant 

15 areas of the Federal Government for achieving the 

16 policies described in section 3 of the National Mate17 rials and Minerals Policy, Research and Develop18 ment Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1602); and 

19 (7) the potential need for new training pro20 grams to have a measurable effect on the supply of 

21 trained workers in the critical minerals industry. 

22 (b) CURRICULUM STUDY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec24 retary of Labor shall jointly enter into an arrange25 ment with the National Academy of Sciences and the 


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1 National Academy of Engineering under which the 

2 Academies shall coordinate with the National 

3 Science Foundation on conducting a study— 

4 (A) to design an interdisciplinary program 

5 on critical minerals that will support the critical 

6 mineral supply chain and improve the ability of 

7 the United States to increase domestic, critical 

8 mineral exploration, development, production, 

9 manufacturing, research, including fundamental 

10 research into alternatives, and recycling; 

11 (B) to address undergraduate and grad12 uate education, especially to assist in the devel13 opment of graduate level programs of research 

14 and instruction that lead to advanced degrees 

15 with an emphasis on the critical mineral supply 

16 chain or other positions that will increase do17 mestic, critical mineral exploration, develop18 ment, production, manufacturing, research, in19 cluding fundamental research into alternatives, 

20 and recycling; 

21 (C) to develop guidelines for proposals 

22 from institutions of higher education with sub23 stantial capabilities in the required disciplines 

24 for activities to improve the critical mineral 

25 supply chain and advance the capacity of the 


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1 United States to increase domestic, critical min2 eral exploration, research, development, produc3 tion, manufacturing, and recycling; and 

4 (D) to outline criteria for evaluating per5 formance and recommendations for the amount 

6 of funding that will be necessary to establish 

7 and carry out the program described in sub8 section (c). 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

11 submit to Congress a description of the results of 

12 the study required under paragraph (1). 

13 (c) PROGRAM.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary and the 

15 Secretary of Labor shall jointly conduct a competi16 tive grant program under which institutions of high17 er education may apply for and receive 4-year grants 

18 for— 

19 (A) startup costs for newly designated fac20 ulty positions in integrated critical mineral edu21 cation, research, innovation, training, and work22 force development programs consistent with 

23 subsection (b); 


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1 (B) internships, scholarships, and fellow2 ships for students enrolled in programs related 

3 to critical minerals; 

4 (C) equipment necessary for integrated 

5 critical mineral innovation, training, and work6 force development programs; and 

7 (D) research of critical minerals and their 

8 applications, particularly concerning the manu9 facture of critical components vital to national 

10 security. 

11 (2) RENEWAL.—A grant under this subsection 

12 shall be renewable for up to 2 additional 3-year 

13 terms based on performance criteria outlined under 

14 subsection (b)(1)(D). 

15 SEC. 11. NATIONAL GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL DATA 

16 PRESERVATION PROGRAM. 

17 Section 351(k) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

18 U.S.C. 15908(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘$30,000,000 

19 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029, 

21 to remain available until expended’’. 

22 SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Critical Materials 

24 Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is repealed. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(d) of the 

2 National Superconductivity and Competitiveness Act of 

3 1988 (15 U.S.C. 5202(d)) is amended in the first sentence 

4 by striking ‘‘, with the assistance of the National Critical 

5 Materials Council as specified in the National Critical Ma6 terials Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.),’’. 

7 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or an 

9 amendment made by this Act modifies any require10 ment or authority provided by— 

11 (A) the matter under the heading ‘‘GEO12 LOGICAL SURVEY’’ of the first section of the 

13 Act of March 3, 1879 (43 U.S.C. 31(a)); or 

14 (B) the first section of Public Law 87–626 

15 (43 U.S.C. 31(b)). 

16 (2) EFFECT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 

17 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

18 Act affects the authority of the Secretary of Defense 

19 with respect to the work of the Department of De20 fense on critical material supplies in furtherance of 

21 the national defense mission of the Department of 

22 Defense. 

23 (3) SECRETARIAL ORDER NOT AFFECTED.— 

24 This Act shall not apply to any mineral described in 

25 Secretarial Order No. 3324, issued by the Secretary 


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1 of the Interior on December 3, 2012, in any area to 

2 which the order applies. 

3 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this Act $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

6 2029. 

Æ 


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