H. R. 4346—200 
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Subcommittee shall 
be— 
(A) to advise and assist the National Science and Tech-
nology Council, including the Committee on Homeland and 
National Security, on United States policies, procedures, 
and plans as it relates to critical materials, including— 
(i) Federal research, development, and commercial 
application efforts to minimize the environmental 
impacts of methods for extractions, concentration, sepa-
ration and purification of conventional, secondary, and 
unconventional sources of critical materials; 
(ii) efficient use, substitution, and reuse of critical 
materials; 
(iii) the critical materials workforce of the United 
States; and 
(iv) United States private industry investments 
in innovation and technology transfer from federally 
funded science and technology; 
(B) to identify emerging opportunities, stimulate inter-
national cooperation, and foster the development of secure 
and reliable supply chains of critical materials and estab-
lish scenario modeling systems for supply problems of crit-
ical materials and energy critical materials; 
(C) to ensure the transparency of information and data 
related to critical materials; and 
(D) to provide recommendations on coordination and 
collaboration among the research, development, and deploy-
ment programs and activities of Federal agencies to pro-
mote a secure and reliable supply of critical materials 
necessary to maintain national security, economic well- 
being, public health, and industrial production. 
(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out this subsection, the 
Subcommittee may, taking into account the findings and rec-
ommendations of relevant advisory committees— 
(A) provide recommendations on how Federal agencies 
may improve the topographic, geologic, and geophysical 
mapping 
of 
the 
United 
States 
and 
improve 
the 
discoverability, accessibility, and usability of the resulting 
and existing data, to the extent permitted by law and 
subject to appropriate limitation for purposes of privacy 
and security; 
(B) assess the progress towards developing critical 
materials recycling and reprocessing technologies, and 
technological alternatives to critical materials; 
(C) establish a mechanism for the coordination and 
evaluation of Federal programs with critical material 
needs, including Federal programs involving research and 
development, in a manner that complements related efforts 
carried out by the private sector and other domestic and 
international agencies and organizations; 
(D) examine options for accessing and developing crit-
ical materials through investment and trade with our allies 
and partners and provide recommendations; 
(E) 
evaluate 
and 
provide 
recommendations 
to 
incentivize the development and use of advances in science 
and technology in the private industry;
H. R. 4346—201 
(F) assess the need for and make recommendations 
to address the challenges the United States critical mate-
rials supply chain workforce faces, including aging and 
retiring personnel and faculty, and foreign competition for 
United States talent; 
(G) develop, and update as necessary, a strategic plan 
to guide Federal programs and activities to enhance sci-
entific and technical capabilities across critical material 
supply chains, including a roadmap that identifies key 
research and development needs and coordinates on-going 
activities for source diversification, more efficient use, 
recycling, and substitution for critical materials; as well 
as cross-cutting mining science, data science techniques, 
materials science, manufacturing science and engineering, 
computational modeling, and environmental health and 
safety research and development; 
(H) assess the need for, and make recommendations 
concerning, the availability and adequacy of the supply 
of technically trained personnel necessary for critical mate-
rials research, development, extraction, and industrial 
production, with a particular focus on the problem of 
attracting and maintaining high-quality professionals for 
maintaining an adequate supply of energy critical mate-
rials; and 
(I) report to the appropriate Congressional committees 
on activities and findings under this section. 
(c) DEFINITIONS OF CRITICAL MINERAL AND CRITICAL MINERAL 
OR METAL.—In this section, the terms ‘‘critical mineral’’ and ‘‘critical 
mineral or metal’’ include any host mineral of a critical mineral 
(within the meaning of those terms in section 7002 of title VII 
of division Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public 
Law 116–260)). 
SEC. 10360. STUDY OF AI RESEARCH CAPACITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall conduct a study or support 
the development of a study by a qualified independent organization 
as determined by the Director, on artificial intelligence research 
capacity at United States institutions of higher education. 
(b) STUDY CONTENTS.—The Director shall ensure that, at a 
minimum, the study under subsection (a) addresses the following 
topics: 
(1) Which universities are putting out significant peer- 
reviewed artificial intelligence research, including based on 
quantity and number of citations. 
(2) For each of the universities described in paragraph 
(1), what specific factors enable their AI research, including 
computing power, data set availability, specialized curriculum, 
faculty and graduate students, sources of Federal and non- 
Federal research funding, and industry and other partnerships. 
(3) Promising practices at universities described in para-
graph (1) for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in AI 
research programs. 
(4) Geographic diversity across the country of universities 
with the factors identified in paragraph (2). 
(5) How universities not included in paragraph (1) could 
implement the factors in paragraph (2) to produce AI research, 
as well as case studies that universities can look to as examples
H. R. 4346—202 
and potential pilot programs that the Federal Government could 
develop or support to help universities produce AI research. 
(c) WORKSHOPS.—The Director may support workshops to help 
inform the study required under this subsection. 
(d) PUBLICATION.—The Director shall ensure that the study 
carried out under this subsection is made publicly available not 
later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(e) AVOID DUPLICATION.—The Director shall ensure that the 
activities carried out under this section are not duplicative of activi-
ties supported by other parts of the Foundation or other relevant 
Federal agencies, including but not limited to the activities of 
the National AI Research Resource Task Force. 
SEC. 10361. ADVANCING IOT FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE CAPABILI-
TIES ACT. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing 
IoT for Precision Agriculture Act of 2021’’. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to promote 
scientific research and development opportunities for connected 
technologies that advance precision agriculture capabilities. 
(c) 
FOUNDATION
DIRECTIVE
ON
AGRICULTURAL
SENSOR 
RESEARCH.—In making awards under the sensor systems and 
networked systems programs of the Foundation, the Director shall 
include in consideration of portfolio balance research and develop-
ment on sensor connectivity in environments of intermittent 
connectivity and intermittent computation— 
(1) to improve the reliable use of advance sensing systems 
in rural and agricultural areas; and 
(2) that considers— 
(A) direct gateway access for locally stored data; 
(B) attenuation of signal transmission; 
(C) loss of signal transmission; and 
(D) at-scale performance for wireless power. 
(d) UPDATING CONSIDERATIONS
FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE 
TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE NSF ADVANCED TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
PROGRAM.—Section 3 of the Scientific and Advanced-Technology 
Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 1862i), as amended by section 10312, is 
further amended— 
(1) in subsection (d)(2), by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) applications that incorporate distance learning 
tools and approaches.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e)(3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) applications that incorporate distance learning 
tools and approaches.’’. 
(e) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than 18 months after the date 
of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall provide— 
(1) a technology assessment of precision agriculture tech-
nologies, such as the existing use of— 
(A) sensors, scanners, radio-frequency identification, 
and related technologies that can monitor soil properties, 
irrigation conditions, and plant physiology;
H. R. 4346—203 
(B) sensors, scanners, radio-frequency identification, 
and related technologies that can monitor livestock activity 
and health; 
(C) network connectivity and wireless communications 
that can securely support digital agriculture technologies 
in rural and remote areas; 
(D) aerial imagery generated by satellites or unmanned 
aerial vehicles; 
(E) ground-based robotics; 
(F) control systems design and connectivity, such as 
smart irrigation control systems; 
(G) Global Positioning System-based applications; and 
(H) data management software and advanced analytics 
that can assist decision making and improve agricultural 
outcomes; and 
(2) a review of Federal programs that provide support 
for precision agriculture research, development, adoption, edu-
cation, or training, in existence on the date of enactment of 
this section. 
SEC. 10362. ASTRONOMY AND SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS. 
The Director shall support research into and the design, 
development, and testing of mitigation measures to address the 
potential impact of satellite constellations on Foundation scientific 
programs by— 
(1) making awards on a competitive basis to support study 
of the potential impacts of satellite constellations on ground- 
based optical, infrared, and radio astronomy, including through 
existing programs such Spectrum and Wireless Innovation 
enabled by Future Technologies (SWIFT) and the Spectrum 
Innovation Initiative; 
(2) supporting research on potential satellite impacts and 
benefits and mitigation strategies to be carried out at one 
or more Foundation supported Federally Funded Research and 
Development Centers or major multiuser research facilities as 
defined in section 110(g) of the American Innovation and 
Competitiveness Act (42 U.S.C. 1862s–2(g)), as appropriate; 
and 
(3) supporting workshops related to the potential impact 
of satellite constellations on scientific research and how those 
constellations could be used to improve scientific research. 
SEC. 10363. RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF INFLATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may make awards, on a competi-
tive merit-reviewed basis, to institutions of higher education or 
nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or 
organizations) to support research to improve our understanding 
of the impact of inflation. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities funded by an award under this 
section may include— 
(1) measuring the economic impact of inflation on the Amer-
ican people, including an analysis of cost-of-living and wage 
impacts; 
(2) considering the impact of inflation on American inter-
national competitiveness; 
(3) evaluating the impact of inflation on rural and under-
served communities throughout the country;