SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rare Earths Supply- 
Chain Technology and Resources Transformation Act of 
2010’’ or the ‘‘RESTART Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that: 
(1) Many modern defense technologies such as 
radar and sonar systems, precision-guided weapons, 
cruise missiles, and lasers cannot be built, as de-
signed and specified, without the use of rare earth 
elements (‘‘REEs’’) and materials produced from 
them. 
(2) Significant quantities of REE are used in 
the production of renewable energy technologies, in-
cluding advanced automotive propulsion batteries, 
electric motors, high-efficiency light bulbs, solar pan-
els, and wind turbines. These technologies are used 
to advance the United States energy policy of reduc-
ing dependence on foreign oil and decreasing green-
house gas emissions through expansion of renewable 
sources of energy. 
(3) Though the United States owns at least 15 
percent of the world’s REEs reserves, it now de-
pends nearly 100 percent upon imports for rare 
earth elements, oxides, and alloys because there are 
virtually no active REE producers in the United 
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States. More than 97 percent of all REEs for world 
consumption are produced in China. 
(4) China’s ability—and willingness—to export 
REEs is eroding due to its growing domestic de-
mand, its enforcement of environmental law on cur-
rent producers, and its mandate to consolidate the 
industry by decreasing its number of mining per-
mits. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Infor-
mation Technology draft rare earths plan for 2009 
to 2015 proposes an immediate ban on the export of 
dysprosium, terbium, thulium, lutetium and yttrium, 
the ‘‘heavy’’ REE and a restriction on the exports 
of all the other, light, rare earth metals to a level 
well below that of Japan’s 2008 demand alone. 
(5) Furthermore, the United States has no ac-
tive heavy group rare earth production capabilities 
or refining capabilities for heavy rare earth ele-
ments. Thus, should the United States begin to mine 
its heavy rare earth oxides, it would still be depend-
ent on overseas refineries for further elemental and 
alloy processing. Nor does the United States cur-
rently maintain a ‘‘strategic reserve’’ of rare earth 
compounds, metals or alloys. 
(6) REEs should qualify as materials either 
strategic or critical to national security. The United 
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States Government should take measures to reintro-
duce a globally competitive domestic strategic mate-
rials industry that is self-sufficient in the United 
States domestic market with multiple sources of 
mining, processing, alloying and manufacturing. 
(7) This self-sufficiency requires an uninter-
rupted supply of strategic materials critical to na-
tional security and innovative commercial product 
development, including rare earth materials, to sup-
port the defense supply chain. 
(8) The United States currently cannot reclaim 
valuable rare earth resources and permanent 
magnets from scrapped military or consumer prod-
ucts, industrial materials or equipment, which allows 
entities in overseas nations to identify and recover 
such materials for resale to United States manufac-
turers at considerable cost. 
(9) There is an urgent need to identify the cur-
rent global market situation regarding rare earth 
materials, the strategic value placed on them by for-
eign nations including China, and the Department of 
Defense’s and domestic manufacturing industry’s 
supply-chain vulnerability related to rare earths and 
end items containing rare earths such as neodymium 
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iron boron and other specialty magnets, and rare 
earth ‘‘doped’’ lasers. 
(10) It is the policy of the United States to 
take any and all actions necessary to ensure the re-
introduction of a competitive domestic rare earth 
supply chain, to include the reintroduction of the ca-
pacity to conduct mining, refining/processing, alloy-
ing and manufacturing operations using domestic 
suppliers to provide a secure source of rare earth 
materials as a vital component of national security 
and economic policy. 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH EXECUTIVE AGENTS 
FOR RARE EARTH RELATED MATTERS. 
No later than 30 days after the enactment of this 
Act— 
(1) the Secretaries of Commerce, Defense, En-
ergy, Interior, and State shall appoint an Executive 
Agent, at the Assistant Secretary level of each af-
fected agency, to serve as a representative on an 
interagency working group for the purposes of rees-
tablishing a competitive domestic rare earth supply 
chain; and 
(2) the United States Trade Representative and 
the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall ap-
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point representation to the interagency working 
group in paragraph (1) above. 
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH A BASELINE FOR 
RARE EARTH MATERIAL SUPPLY-CHAIN VUL-
NERABILITY. 
No later than 180 days after the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretaries of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Inte-
rior, and State shall undertake an assessment of the rare 
earth supply chain and determine which rare earth ele-
ments are critical to national and economic security and 
submit the findings of the review to Congress. Such as-
sessment shall be in coordination with the United States 
Trade Representative and the Executive Office of the 
President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. 
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL STOCK-
PILE FOR RARE EARTH MATERIALS. 
(a) In accordance with 50 U.S.C. 98 et seq., the Sec-
retary of Defense shall commence the procurement of rare 
earth materials designated as ‘‘critical’’ in section 4 of this 
Act and place such rare earth materials in the national 
stockpile within one year after enactment of this Act. 
(b) The Defense Logistics Agency, Defense National 
Stockpile Center, shall serve as Administrator of the rare 
earth stockpile and shall issue an annual report to Con-
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gress describing which rare earth materials shall be added 
to or subtracted from the stockpile. 
(c) In accordance with section 98h–6 of title 50, 
United States Code, the Administrator shall purchase, or 
make a commitment to purchase, rare earth materials or 
for the processing or refining of rare earth materials, to 
support national defense and the economic needs of the 
United States. 
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 
a period of five years after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator shall be authorized to purchase 
necessary rare earth materials from the People’s Republic 
of China, if required to meet national security and eco-
nomic needs of the United States. 
(e) Upon the joint determination of the Secretaries 
of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Interior, and State, in co-
ordination with the United States Trade Representative 
and the Executive Office of the President’s Office of 
Science and Technology Policy, that rare earth materials 
are no longer critical to supporting national defense or the 
economic well-being of the United States, the requirement 
to stockpile rare earth materials shall terminate by issuing 
a report of such determination to Congress. Such report 
shall be submitted to Congress no earlier than April 1, 
2015. 
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SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF FAIR MARKET CONDITIONS 
FOR THE REESTABLISHMENT OF A DOMESTIC 
RARE EARTH SUPPLY CHAIN. 
(a) Not later than 30 days after the enactment of 
the Act, the United States Trade Representative shall ini-
tiate a comprehensive review of international trade prac-
tices in the rare earth materials market. Such review shall 
include actions by foreign producers of rare earth ele-
ments, rare earth metals, rare earth alloys and compo-
nents used in the defense or energy markets containing 
rare earth elements, as it relates to dumping, export 
quotas and other relevant mechanisms used to manipulate 
the rare earth market. 
(b) Upon completion of the review, the United States 
Trade Representative shall— 
(1) initiate an action before the World Trade 
Organization; or 
(2) issue a report to Congress describing the re-
sults of the comprehensive review and why it was de-
termined that international markets are free from 
market manipulation such as dumping or export 
quotas. 
SEC. 7. CONSIDERATION OF LOAN GUARANTEES FOR RARE 
EARTH SUPPLY-CHAIN DEVELOPMENT. 
Not later than 90 days after the enactment of the 
Act— 
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(1) the Secretaries of Commerce, Interior, and 
State shall issue a report to industry describing 
mechanisms for obtaining current and future year 
government loan guarantees to reestablish a domes-
tic rare earth supply chain; 
(2) the Secretary of Defense shall issue guid-
ance for the rare earth industry related to obtaining 
loan guarantees under 50 U.S.C. 98 and any other 
available mechanism for obtaining loan guarantees 
to support the reestablishment of mining, refining, 
alloying and manufacturing operations in the United 
States that will support the domestic defense supply 
chain; and 
(3) the Secretary of Energy shall issue guidance 
for the rare earth industry related to obtaining loan 
guarantees under the American Recovery and Rein-
vestment Act of 2009, Energy Efficiency and Re-
newable Energy sponsored programs and any other 
available mechanism for obtaining loan guarantees 
to support the reestablishment of mining, refining, 
alloying and manufacturing operations in the United 
States that will support the domestic supply chain. 
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SEC. 8. DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT PRIORITY FOR RARE 
EARTH SUPPLY-CHAIN DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) It is the sense of Congress that the urgent need 
to reintroduce a domestic rare earth supply chain war-
rants a prioritization of such Defense Production Act 
projects. The United States faces a shortage of key mate-
rials that form the backbone of both the defense and en-
ergy supply chains. 
(b) Not later than 180 days after the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue a report de-
scribing past, current and future Defense Production Act 
projects to address the domestic rare earth supply chain. 
If no rare earth supply-chain Defense Production Act 
projects are in process or planned, the report shall justify 
the lack of action to support establishment of domestic 
rare earth supply-chain initiatives, particularly those to es-
tablish domestic manufacturing capability in critical seg-
ments of the rare earth market. 
SEC. 9. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT THE 
DOMESTIC RARE EARTH SUPPLY CHAIN. 
It is the sense of Congress that, in order to reestab-
lish the United States as the preeminent supplier of rare 
earth materials, components and associated technologies, 
there is a pressing need to support innovation, training 
and workforce development of the rare earth supply chain. 
Therefore, base budget funding should be provided by the 
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Secretaries of Commerce, Defense, Energy, and Interior 
to fund academic institutions, Government laboratories, 
corporate research and development, not-for-profit re-
search and development, and industry associations. 
SEC. 10. RESTRICTIONS. 
(a) LIMITATION
ON DIVESTMENT
OF FACILITIES 
CREATED.—No recipient of United States Government 
appropriated funds, for the purposes of supporting the re-
establishment of a domestic rare earth supply chain, may 
divest resources funded, in whole or in part, to any for-
eign-owned or controlled entity without the concurrence of 
the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce, and Defense. 
(b) ENHANCING NATIONAL SECURITY.—Any recipi-
ent of United States Government appropriated funds ob-
tained in connection with the reestablishment of a domes-
tic rare earth supply chain shall be subject to the restric-
tions of 10 U.S.C. 2538. In order to ensure the availability 
of rare earth materials for Department of Defense needs, 
this obligation extends to all materials sold by such recipi-
ents in the commercial marketplace. 
SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) RARE
EARTH.—The term ‘‘rare earth’’ 
means the chemical elements, all metals, beginning 
with lanthanum, atomic number 57, and including 
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all of the natural chemical elements in the periodic 
table following lanthanum up to and including lute-
tium, element number 71. The definition shall fur-
ther include the elements yttrium and scandium, 
which are usually found with the rare earth elements 
in nature. 
(2) REFINE.—The reestablishment of a domes-
tic rare earth element refinery capabilities within the 
United States whereby rare earths, once extracted 
from rock, are separated and purified to commercial 
grades of oxides or other salts such as oxalates or 
chlorides. 
(3) PROCESS.—The support of heavy rare earth 
processing and production facilities capable of con-
verting rare earth oxides into usable rare earth met-
als and specialty alloys and powders for domestic 
magnet and other manufacturing within the United 
States. 
(4) PRODUCE.—The advancement of domestic 
manufacturing efforts of U.S. magnet producers and 
other domestic innovation industries that rely on 
rare earth materials. 
(5) RECYCLE.—The establishment of an initia-
tive to recycle and strip used consumer products, 
and used or obsolete declassified military products, 
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of rare earth elements and strategic magnets within 
the United States for eventual reuse by domestic 
manufacturers. 
(6) STOCKPILE.—The creation and mainte-
nance of a ‘‘strategic reserve’’ of rare earth oxides, 
and storable forms of rare earth elements, and alloys 
for national defense purposes. 
(7) ALLOY AND ALLOYING.—An alloy is a par-
tial or complete solid solution of one or more ele-
ments in a metallic matrix. Alloying is the process 
of melting of metals to create the metallic matrix. 
(8) SINTERING.—Sintering is a method for 
making objects from powder, by heating the material 
in a sintering furnace below its melting point (solid 
state sintering) until its particles adhere to each 
other. 
Æ 
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