II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 883 

To facilitate the reestablishment of domestic, critical mineral designation, 

assessment, production, manufacturing, recycling, analysis, forecasting, 

workforce, education, and research capabilities in the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To facilitate the reestablishment of domestic, critical mineral 

designation, assessment, production, manufacturing, recycling, analysis, forecasting, workforce, education, and 

research capabilities in the United States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘American Mineral Security Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DESIGNATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN 

Sec. 101. Policy. 

Sec. 102. Critical mineral designations. 

Sec. 103. Resource assessment. 

Sec. 104. Permitting. 

Sec. 105. Application of Executive order. 

Sec. 106. Federal Register process. 

Sec. 107. Recycling, efficiency, and alternatives. 

Sec. 108. Analysis and forecasting. 

Sec. 109. Education and workforce. 

TITLE II—ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 201. Repeal. 

Sec. 202. Savings clauses. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CRITICAL MINERAL.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘critical min5 eral’’ means any mineral, element, substance, or 

6 material designated as critical pursuant to sec7 tion 102. 

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

9 mineral’’ does not include— 

10 (i) fuel minerals, including oil, natural 

11 gas, or any other fossil fuels; or 

12 (ii) water, ice, or snow. 

13 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

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

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 


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1 (3) MINERAL MANUFACTURING.—The term 

2 ‘‘mineral manufacturing’’ means— 

3 (A) the production, processing, refining, 

4 alloying, separation, concentration, magnetic 

5 sintering, melting, or beneficiation of minerals 

6 within the United States; 

7 (B) the fabrication, assembly, or produc8 tion, within the United States, of equipment, 

9 components, or other goods with energy tech10 nology-, defense-, agriculture-, consumer elec11 tronics-, or health care-related applications; or 

12 (C) any other value-added, manufacturing13 related use of minerals undertaken within the 

14 United States. 

15 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

16 (A) a State; 

17 (B) the District of Columbia; 

18 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

19 (D) Guam; 

20 (E) American Samoa; 

21 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

22 Mariana Islands; and 

23 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 


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1 TITLE I—DESIGNATIONS AND 

2 SUPPLY CHAIN 

3 SEC. 101. POLICY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National Mate5 rials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act 

6 of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1602) is amended in the second sen7 tence— 

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

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(3) establish an analytical and forecasting ca11 pability for identifying critical mineral demand, sup12 ply, and other factors to allow informed actions to 

13 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price 

14 volatility, and prepare for demand growth and other 

15 market shifts;’’; 

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

17 the semicolon at the end; 

18 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

20 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(8) encourage Federal agencies to facilitate 

22 the availability, development, and environmentally 

23 responsible production of domestic resources to meet 

24 national critical material or mineral needs; 


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1 ‘‘(9) avoid duplication of effort, prevent unnec2 essary paperwork, and minimize delays in the ad3 ministration of applicable laws (including regula4 tions) and the issuance of permits and authoriza5 tions necessary to explore for, develop, and produce 

6 critical minerals and to construct mineral manufac7 turing facilities in accordance with applicable envi8 ronmental and land management laws; 

9 ‘‘(10) strengthen educational and research ca10 pabilities and workforce training; 

11 ‘‘(11) bolster international cooperation through 

12 technology transfer, information sharing, and other 

13 means; 

14 ‘‘(12) promote the efficient production, use, and 

15 recycling of critical minerals; 

16 ‘‘(13) develop alternatives to critical minerals; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(14) establish contingencies for the production 

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

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

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

22 National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and De23 velopment Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601(b)) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘(b) As used in this Act, the term’’ and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

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

3 mineral’ means any mineral or element designated 

4 as a critical mineral pursuant to section 102 of the 

5 American Mineral Security Act of 2015. 

6 ‘‘(2) MATERIALS.—The term’’. 

7 SEC. 102. CRITICAL MINERAL DESIGNATIONS. 

8 (a) DRAFT METHODOLOGY.—Not later than 90 days 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

10 the United States Geological Survey (referred to in this 

11 title as the ‘‘Director’’), in consultation with relevant Fed12 eral agencies and entities, shall publish in the Federal 

13 Register for public comment a draft methodology for de14 termining which minerals qualify as critical minerals 

15 based on an assessment of whether the minerals are— 

16 (1) subject to potential supply restrictions (in17 cluding restrictions associated with foreign political 

18 risk, abrupt demand growth, military conflict, violent 

19 unrest, anti-competitive or protectionist behaviors, 

20 and other risks throughout the supply chain); and 

21 (2) important in use (including energy tech22 nology-, defense-, currency-, agriculture-, consumer 

23 electronics-, and health care-related applications). 

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1 ology developed under this section, qualitative evidence 

2 may be used to the extent necessary. 

3 (c) FINAL METHODOLOGY.—After reviewing public 

4 comments on the draft methodology under subsection (a) 

5 and updating the draft methodology as appropriate, not 

6 later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, the Director shall publish in the Federal Register a 

8 description of the final methodology for determining which 

9 minerals qualify as critical minerals. 

10 (d) DESIGNATIONS.— 

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

12 this title, the Director shall maintain a list of min13 erals and elements designated as critical, pursuant 

14 to the methodology under subsection (c). 

15 (2) INITIAL LIST.—Subject to paragraph (1), 

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

17 this Act, the Director shall publish in the Federal 

18 Register an initial list of minerals designated as crit19 ical pursuant to the final methodology under sub20 section (c) for the purpose of carrying out this title. 

21 (3) INCLUSIONS.—Notwithstanding the criteria 

22 under subsection (a), any mineral or element deter23 mined by another Federal agency to be strategic and 

24 critical to the defense or national security of the 

25 United States may be— 


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1 (A) considered to be a critical mineral; and 

2 (B) included on the list developed by the 

3 Director under this subsection. 

4 (e) SUBSEQUENT REVIEW.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall review 

6 the methodology and designations under subsections 

7 (c) and (d) at least every 2 years, or more frequently 

8 as the Director considers to be appropriate. 

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

10 the Director may— 

11 (A) revise the methodology described in 

12 this section; 

13 (B) determine that minerals or elements 

14 previously determined to be critical minerals are 

15 no longer critical minerals; and 

16 (C) designate additional minerals or ele17 ments as critical minerals. 

18 (f) NOTICE.—On finalization of the methodology 

19 under subsection (c), the list under subsection (d), or any 

20 revision to the methodology or list under subsection (e), 

21 the Director shall submit to Congress written notice of the 

22 action. 

23 SEC. 103. RESOURCE ASSESSMENT. 

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

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1 ble State (including geological surveys), local, academic, 

2 industry, and other entities, the Director shall complete 

3 a comprehensive national assessment of each critical min4 eral that— 

5 (1) identifies and quantifies known critical min6 eral resources, using all available public and private 

7 information and datasets, including exploration his8 tories; and 

9 (2) provides a quantitative and qualitative as10 sessment of undiscovered critical mineral resources 

11 throughout the United States, including probability 

12 estimates of tonnage and grade, using all available 

13 public and private information and datasets, includ14 ing exploration histories. 

15 (b) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.—In carrying 

16 out this section, the Director may carry out surveys and 

17 field work (including drilling, remote sensing, geophysical 

18 surveys, geological mapping, and geochemical sampling 

19 and analysis) to supplement existing information and 

20 datasets available for determining the existence of critical 

21 minerals on— 

22 (1) Federal land; 

23 (2) Indian tribal land, at the request or with 

24 the consent of the Indian tribe; and 


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1 (3) State land, at the request or with the con2 sent of the Governor of the State. 

3 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the 

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

5 Director may provide technical assistance to State govern6 ments and Indian tribes conducting critical mineral re7 source assessments on non-Federal land. 

8 (d) PRIORITIZATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may sequence 

10 the completion of resource assessments for each crit11 ical mineral such that critical minerals considered to 

12 be most critical under the methodology established 

13 under section 102 are completed first. 

14 (2) REPORTING.—During the period beginning 

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

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

17 of the assessments required under this section, the 

18 Director shall submit to Congress on an annual 

19 basis an interim report that— 

20 (A) identifies the sequence and schedule 

21 for completion of the assessments if the Direc22 tor sequences the assessments; or 

23 (B) describes the progress of the assess24 ments if the Director does not sequence the as25 sessments. 


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1 (e) UPDATES.—The Director may periodically update 

2 the assessments conducted under this section based on— 

3 (1) the generation of new information or 

4 datasets by the Federal Government; or 

5 (2) the receipt of new information or datasets 

6 from critical mineral producers, State geological sur7 veys, academic institutions, trade associations, or 

8 other entities or individuals. 

9 (f) ADDITIONAL SURVEYS.—The Director shall com10 plete a resource assessment for each additional mineral 

11 or element subsequently designated as a critical mineral 

12 under section 102(e)(2) not later than 2 years after the 

13 designation of the mineral or element. 

14 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Con16 gress a report describing the status of geological surveying 

17 of Federal land for any mineral commodity— 

18 (1) for which the United States was dependent 

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

20 United States supply, as depicted in the report 

21 issued by the United States Geological Survey enti22 tled ‘‘Mineral Commodity Summaries 2015’’; but 

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

24 under section 102. 


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1 SEC. 104. PERMITTING. 

2 (a) PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS.—To improve 

3 the quality and timeliness of decisions, the Secretary of 

4 the Interior (acting through the Director of the Bureau 

5 of Land Management) and the Secretary of Agriculture 

6 (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service) (referred 

7 to in this section as the ‘‘Secretaries’’) shall, to the max8 imum extent practicable, with respect to critical mineral 

9 production on Federal land, complete Federal permitting 

10 and review processes with maximum efficiency and effec11 tiveness, while supporting vital economic growth, by— 

12 (1) establishing and adhering to timelines and 

13 schedules for the consideration of, and final deci14 sions regarding, applications, operating plans, leases, 

15 licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for 

16 mineral-related activities on Federal land; 

17 (2) establishing clear, quantifiable, and tem18 poral permitting performance goals and tracking 

19 progress against those goals; 

20 (3) engaging in early collaboration among agen21 cies, project sponsors, and affected stakeholders— 

22 (A) to incorporate and address the inter23 ests of those parties; and 

24 (B) to minimize delays; 

25 (4) ensuring transparency and accountability by 

26 using cost-effective information technology to collect 


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1 and disseminate information regarding individual 

2 projects and agency performance; 

3 (5) engaging in early and active consultation 

4 with State, local, and Indian tribal governments to 

5 avoid conflicts or duplication of effort, resolve con6 cerns, and allow for concurrent, rather than sequen7 tial, reviews; 

8 (6) providing demonstrable improvements in the 

9 performance of Federal permitting and review proc10 esses, including lower costs and more timely deci11 sions; 

12 (7) expanding and institutionalizing permitting 

13 and review process improvements that have proven 

14 effective; 

15 (8) developing mechanisms to better commu16 nicate priorities and resolve disputes among agencies 

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

18 (9) developing other practices, such as 

19 preapplication procedures. 

20 (b) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

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

22 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

23 (1) identifies additional measures (including 

24 regulatory and legislative proposals, as appropriate) 

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1 tivities for the exploration and development of do2 mestic critical minerals; 

3 (2) identifies options (including cost recovery 

4 paid by permit applicants) for ensuring adequate 

5 staffing and training of Federal entities and per6 sonnel responsible for the consideration of applica7 tions, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 

8 other use authorizations for critical mineral-related 

9 activities on Federal land; 

10 (3) quantifies the amount of time typically re11 quired (including range derived from minimum and 

12 maximum durations, mean, median, variance, and 

13 other statistical measures or representations) to 

14 complete each step (including those aspects outside 

15 the control of the executive branch, such as judicial 

16 review, applicant decisions, or State and local gov17 ernment involvement) associated with the develop18 ment and processing of applications, operating 

19 plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use au20 thorizations for critical mineral-related activities on 

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

22 performance metric under subsection (c); and 

23 (4) describes actions carried out pursuant to 

24 subsection (a). 


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1 (c) PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of submission of the report under subsection 

3 (b), the Secretaries, after providing public notice and an 

4 opportunity to comment, shall develop and publish a per5 formance metric for evaluating the progress made by the 

6 executive branch to expedite the permitting of activities 

7 that will increase exploration for, and development of, do8 mestic critical minerals, while maintaining environmental 

9 standards. 

10 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning with the first 

11 budget submission by the President under section 1105 

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

13 performance metric required under subsection (c), and an14 nually thereafter, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress 

15 a report that— 

16 (1) summarizes the implementation of rec17 ommendations, measures, and options identified in 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b); 

19 (2) using the performance metric under sub20 section (c), describes progress made by the executive 

21 branch, as compared to the baseline established pur22 suant to subsection (b)(3), on expediting the permit23 ting of activities that will increase exploration for, 

24 and development of, domestic critical minerals; and 


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1 (3) compares the United States to other coun2 tries in terms of permitting efficiency and any other 

3 criteria relevant to the globally competitive critical 

4 minerals industry. 

5 (e) INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—Using data from the 

6 Secretaries generated under subsection (d), the Director 

7 of the Office of Management and Budget shall prioritize 

8 inclusion of individual critical mineral projects in the per9 mit performance dashboard. 

10 (f) REPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA11 TION.—Not later than 1 year and 300 days after the date 

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

13 Business Administration shall submit to the applicable 

14 committees of Congress a report that assesses the per15 formance of Federal agencies with respect to— 

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

17 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Regulatory 

18 Flexibility Act’’), in promulgating regulations appli19 cable to the critical minerals industry; and 

20 (2) performing an analysis of regulations appli21 cable to the critical minerals industry that may be 

22 outmoded, inefficient, duplicative, or excessively bur23 densome. 


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1 SEC. 105. APPLICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER. 

2 Domestic mines that will produce critical minerals 

3 and critical mineral manufacturing projects shall be con4 sidered to be infrastructure projects, as described in Exec5 utive Order 13604 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to improv6 ing performance of Federal permitting and review of infra7 structure projects). 

8 SEC. 106. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS. 

9 (a) PREPARATION.—The preparation of Federal Reg10 ister notices required by law associated with the issuance 

11 of a critical mineral exploration or mine permit shall be 

12 delegated to the organizational level within the agency re13 sponsible for issuing the critical mineral exploration or 

14 mine permit. 

15 (b) TRANSMISSION.—All Federal Register notices re16 garding official document availability, announcements of 

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

18 be originated in, and transmitted to the Federal Register 

19 from, the office in which, as applicable— 

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

21 (2) the activity is initiated. 

22 (c) DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.—Absent any extraor23 dinary circumstance, and except as otherwise required by 

24 law, each Federal Register notice described in subsection 

25 (a) shall be— 


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1 (1) subject to any required reviews within the 

2 Department of the Interior or the Department of 

3 Agriculture; and 

4 (2) published in final form in the Federal Reg5 ister not later than 45 days after the date of initial 

6 preparation of the notice. 

7 SEC. 107. RECYCLING, EFFICIENCY, AND ALTERNATIVES. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, in 

9 consultation with the Director, shall conduct a program 

10 of research and development— 

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

12 and recycling of critical minerals throughout the 

13 supply chain; and 

14 (2) to develop alternatives to critical minerals 

15 that do not occur in significant abundance in the 

16 United States. 

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

18 Secretary of Energy shall cooperate with appropriate— 

19 (1) Federal agencies and National Laboratories; 

20 (2) critical mineral producers; 

21 (3) critical mineral processors; 

22 (4) critical mineral manufacturers; 

23 (5) trade associations; 

24 (6) academic institutions; 

25 (7) small businesses; and 


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1 (8) other relevant entities or individuals. 

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

3 of Energy, in consultation with the Director, shall carry 

4 out activities that include the identification and develop5 ment 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 of Energy shall submit to Congress a report sum21 marizing the activities, findings, and progress of the pro22 gram. 

23 SEC. 108. ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING. 

24 (a) CAPABILITIES.—In order to evaluate existing crit25 ical mineral policies and inform future actions that may 


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1 be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price vola2 tility, and prepare for demand growth and other market 

3 shifts, the Director, in consultation with the Energy Infor4 mation Administration, academic institutions, and others 

5 in order to maximize the application of existing com6 petencies related to developing and maintaining computer7 models and similar analytical tools, shall conduct and pub8 lish the results of an annual report that includes— 

9 (1) as part of the annually published Mineral 

10 Commodity Summaries from the United States Geo11 logical Survey, a comprehensive review of critical 

12 mineral production, consumption, and recycling pat13 terns, including— 

14 (A) the quantity of each critical mineral 

15 domestically produced during the preceding 

16 year; 

17 (B) the quantity of each critical mineral 

18 domestically consumed during the preceding 

19 year; 

20 (C) market price data or other price data 

21 for each critical mineral; 

22 (D) an assessment of— 

23 (i) critical mineral requirements to 

24 meet the national security, energy, eco25 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 Director 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 Director determines to be 

11 necessary to achieve the purposes of this sec12 tion. 

13 (b) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—In preparing a re14 port described in subsection (a), the Director shall ensure, 

15 consistent with section 5(f) of the National Materials and 

16 Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 

17 (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 Director determines that with10 holding is necessary to protect proprietary informa11 tion, including any trade secrets or other confiden12 tial information. 

13 SEC. 109. 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 Director, 

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

19 mining, and employers in the critical minerals sector) shall 

20 submit to Congress an assessment of the domestic avail21 ability of technically trained personnel necessary for crit22 ical mineral exploration, development, assessment, produc23 tion, manufacturing, recycling, analysis, forecasting, edu24 cation, and research, including an analysis of— 


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

2 the date of the assessment; 

3 (2) skills that are projected to be in short sup4 ply in the future; 

5 (3) the demographics of the critical minerals in6 dustry and how the demographics will evolve under 

7 the influence of factors such as an aging workforce; 

8 (4) the effectiveness of training and education 

9 programs in addressing skills shortages; 

10 (5) opportunities to hire locally for new and ex11 isting critical mineral activities; 

12 (6) the sufficiency of personnel within relevant 

13 areas of the Federal Government for achieving the 

14 policies described in section 3 of the National Mate15 rials and Minerals Policy, Research and Develop16 ment Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1602); and 

17 (7) the potential need for new training pro18 grams to have a measurable effect on the supply of 

19 trained workers in the critical minerals industry. 

20 (b) CURRICULUM STUDY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the Sec22 retary of Labor shall jointly enter into an arrange23 ment with the National Academy of Sciences and the 

24 National Academy of Engineering under which the 


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1 Academies shall coordinate with the National 

2 Science Foundation on conducting a study— 

3 (A) to design an interdisciplinary program 

4 on critical minerals that will support the critical 

5 mineral supply chain and improve the ability of 

6 the United States to increase domestic, critical 

7 mineral exploration, development, production, 

8 manufacturing, and recycling; 

9 (B) to address undergraduate and grad10 uate education, especially to assist in the devel11 opment of graduate level programs of research 

12 and instruction that lead to advanced degrees 

13 with an emphasis on the critical mineral supply 

14 chain or other positions that will increase do15 mestic, critical mineral exploration, develop16 ment, production, manufacturing, and recycling; 

17 (C) to develop guidelines for proposals 

18 from institutions of higher education with sub19 stantial capabilities in the required disciplines 

20 for activities to improve the critical mineral 

21 supply chain and advance the capacity of the 

22 United States to increase domestic, critical min23 eral exploration, research, development, produc24 tion, manufacturing, and recycling; and 


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1 (D) to outline criteria for evaluating per2 formance and recommendations for the amount 

3 of funding that will be necessary to establish 

4 and carry out the program described in sub5 section (c). 

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

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 

8 submit to Congress a description of the results of 

9 the study required under paragraph (1). 

10 (c) PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director and the 

12 Secretary of Labor shall jointly conduct a competi13 tive grant program under which institutions of high14 er education may apply for and receive 4-year grants 

15 for— 

16 (A) startup costs for newly designated fac17 ulty positions in integrated critical mineral edu18 cation, research, innovation, training, and work19 force development programs consistent with 

20 subsection (b); 

21 (B) internships, scholarships, and fellow22 ships for students enrolled in programs related 

23 to critical minerals; 


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1 (C) equipment necessary for integrated 

2 critical mineral innovation, training, and work3 force development programs; and 

4 (D) research of critical minerals and their 

5 applications, particularly concerning the manu6 facture of critical components vital to national 

7 security. 

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

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

10 terms based on performance criteria outlined under 

11 subsection (b)(1)(D). 

12 TITLE II—ADMINISTRATION 

13 SEC. 201. REPEAL. 

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

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

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

17 National Superconductivity and Competitiveness Act of 

18 1988 (15 U.S.C. 5202(d)) is amended in the first sentence 

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

20 Materials Council as specified in the National Critical Ma21 terials Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.),’’. 

22 SEC. 202. SAVINGS CLAUSES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or an amend24 ment made by this Act modifies any requirement or au25 thority provided by the matter under the heading ‘‘GEOVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Apr 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S883.IS S883

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1 LOGICAL SURVEY’’ of the first section of the Act of 

2 March 3, 1879 (43 U.S.C. 31(a)). 

3 (b) POTASH.—Nothing in this Act affects any aspect 

4 of Secretarial Order 3324, issued by the Secretary of the 

5 Interior on December 3, 2012, with respect to potash and 

6 oil and gas operators. 

Æ 


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