H. R. 133—1386 
(1) DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.—Absent any extraordinary cir-
cumstance, and except as otherwise required by law, the Sec-
retary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that each 
Federal Register notice described in paragraph (2) shall be— 
(A) subject to any required reviews within the Depart-
ment of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture; 
and 
(B) published in final form in the Federal Register 
not later than 45 days after the date of initial preparation 
of the notice. 
(2) PREPARATION.—The preparation of Federal Register 
notices required by law associated with the issuance of a critical 
mineral exploration or mine permit shall be delegated to the 
organizational level within the agency responsible for issuing 
the critical mineral exploration or mine permit. 
(3) TRANSMISSION.—All Federal Register notices regarding 
official document availability, announcements of meetings, or 
notices of intent to undertake an action shall be originated 
in, and transmitted to the Federal Register from, the office 
in which, as applicable— 
(A) the documents or meetings are held; or 
(B) the activity is initiated. 
(4) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) shall also apply to— 
(i) an exploration project in which the presence 
of a byproduct is reasonably expected, based on known 
mineral companionality, geologic formation, min-
eralogy, or other factors; and 
(ii) a project that demonstrates that a byproduct 
is of sufficient grade that, when combined with the 
production of a host mineral, the byproduct is economic 
to recover, as determined by the applicable Secretary 
in accordance with subparagraph (B), and that the 
byproduct will be recovered in commercial quantities. 
(B) REQUIREMENT.—In making the determination 
under subparagraph (A)(ii), the applicable Secretary shall 
consider the cost effectiveness of the byproducts recovery. 
(g) RECYCLING, INNOVATION, EFFICIENCY, AND ALTERNATIVES.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy (referred to 
in this subsection as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct a program 
(referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘program’’) of research, 
development, demonstration, and commercialization— 
(A) to develop alternatives to critical materials that 
do not occur in significant abundance in the United States; 
(B) to promote the efficient production, use, and 
recycling of critical materials, with special consideration 
for domestic critical materials, throughout the supply chain; 
(C) to ensure the long-term, secure, and sustainable 
supply of critical materials; and 
(D) to prioritize work in areas that the private sector 
by itself is not likely to undertake due to financial or 
technical limitations. 
(2) COOPERATION.—In carrying out the program, the Sec-
retary shall cooperate with appropriate— 
(A) Federal agencies, including the Department of the 
Interior; 
(B) the National Laboratories;
H. R. 133—1387 
(C) critical material producers, processors, and manu-
facturers; 
(D) trade associations; 
(E) academic institutions (including students and 
postdoctoral staff at institutions of higher education); 
(F) small businesses; 
(G) nongovernmental organizations; and 
(H) other relevant entities or individuals. 
(3) ENERGY INNOVATION HUB.—In carrying out the program, 
the Secretary may use an Energy Innovation Hub authorized 
under section 206 of the Department of Energy Research 
Coordination Act (42 U.S.C. 18632). 
(4) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program, the Secretary shall 
carry out activities that include the identification and develop-
ment of— 
(A) alternative materials, particularly materials avail-
able in abundance within the United States and not subject 
to potential supply restrictions, that lessen the need for 
critical materials; 
(B) alternative energy technologies or alternative 
designs of existing energy technologies, particularly tech-
nologies or designs that use materials that— 
(i) occur in abundance in the United States; and 
(ii) are not subject to potential supply restrictions; 
(C) technologies or process improvements that mini-
mize the use and content, or lead to more efficient use, 
of critical materials across the full supply chain; 
(D) innovative technologies and practices to diversify 
commercially viable and sustainable domestic sources of 
critical materials, including technologies for recovery from 
waste streams; 
(E) technologies, process improvements, or design 
optimizations that facilitate the recycling of critical mate-
rials, and options for improving the rates of collection of 
products and scrap containing critical materials from post- 
consumer, industrial, or other waste streams; 
(F) advanced critical material extraction, production, 
separation, alloying, or processing technologies that 
decrease the energy consumption, environmental impact, 
and costs of those activities, including— 
(i) efficient water and wastewater management 
strategies; 
(ii) technologies and management strategies to con-
trol the environmental impacts of radionuclides in ore 
tailings; 
(iii) technologies for separation and processing; and 
(iv) technologies for increasing the recovery rates 
of coproducts and byproducts from host metal ores; 
(G) commercial markets, advanced storage methods, 
energy applications, and other beneficial uses of critical 
materials; and 
(H) advanced theoretical, computational, and experi-
mental tools necessary to support the crosscutting research 
and development needs of diverse critical minerals stake-
holders. 
(5) PLAN.—
H. R. 133—1388 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a plan to carry out the program. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The plan under subparagraph (A) 
shall include a description of— 
(i) the research and development activities to be 
carried out under the program during the subsequent 
2 years; 
(ii) the expected contributions under the program 
to the creation of innovative methods and technologies 
for the efficient and sustainable provision of critical 
materials to the domestic economy; 
(iii) the expected activities under the program to 
mitigate the environmental and health impacts of the 
extraction, processing, manufacturing, use, recovery, 
and recycling of critical materials; and 
(iv) how the program will promote the broadest 
possible participation by academic, industrial, and 
other contributors and the public. 
(6) COORDINATION
AND
NONDUPLICATION.—To the max-
imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that the 
activities carried out under this subsection are coordinated 
with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, other programs within 
the Federal Government, including the work underway by the 
Critical Materials Institute and the National Minerals Informa-
tion Center. 
(7) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct 
a review of activities carried out under the program to deter-
mine the achievement of the technical milestones identified 
under paragraph (8)(D)(i)(I). 
(8) CRITICAL MATERIALS CONSORTIUM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 
and operate a Critical Materials Consortium (referred to 
in this paragraph as the ‘‘Consortium’’) for the purpose 
of supporting the program by providing, to the maximum 
extent practicable, a centralized entity for multidisci-
plinary, collaborative, critical materials research and 
development. 
(B) LEADERSHIP.—If an Energy Innovation Hub author-
ized under section 206 of the Department of Energy 
Research Coordination Act (42 U.S.C. 18632) that is focused 
on critical materials exists on the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall leverage the personnel and 
expertise of the Energy Innovation Hub to manage the 
Consortium for not less than 3 years following the date 
on which the Consortium is established. 
(C) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Consortium 
shall be representatives from relevant Federal agencies, 
the National Laboratories, the National Minerals Informa-
tion Center, institutions of higher education, private sector 
entities, multiinstitutional collaborations, and other appro-
priate entities. 
(D) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Consortium shall— 
(i) develop and implement a multiyear plan that—
H. R. 133—1389 
(I) identifies technical goals and milestones 
for the program; 
(II) utilizes the high performance computing 
capabilities of the Department; and 
(III) leverages the expertise of the National 
Laboratories and the United States Geological 
Survey; and 
(ii) submit an annual report to the Secretary 
summarizing 
the 
activities 
of 
the 
Consortium, 
including an evaluation of the role of the Consortium 
in the achievement of the technical milestones identi-
fied under clause (i)(I). 
(E) SUNSET; TERMINATION.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide sup-
port to the Consortium for a period of not more than 
10 years, subject to the availability of appropriations. 
(ii) MERIT REVIEW.—Not later than 5 years after 
the date on which the Consortium is established, the 
Secretary shall conduct a rigorous merit review to 
determine whether the Consortium helped the program 
achieve the technical milestones identified under 
subparagraph (D)(i)(I). 
(iii) TERMINATION.—If the Secretary determines 
that the Consortium has not helped the program 
achieve the technical milestones identified under 
subparagraph (D)(i)(I), the Secretary may terminate 
any financial or technical support that the Department 
provides to the Consortium. 
(9) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report summarizing the activities, 
findings, and progress of the program. 
(10) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 
this subsection— 
(A) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 
(B) $105,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 
(C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 
(D) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 
(E) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 
(h) CRITICAL MATERIALS SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH FACILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (referred to in 
this subsection as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall support construction 
of a Critical Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (referred 
to in this subsection as the ‘‘facility’’). 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The facility— 
(A) shall be used to further enable research, develop-
ment, demonstration, and commercialization activities 
throughout the supply chain for critical materials; and 
(B) shall provide an integrated, rapidly reconfigurable 
research platform. 
(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated to the Secretary to fund the design 
and construction of the facility, to remain available until 
expended— 
(A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 
(B) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and