(2) PUBLICATION.—The lead agency shall pub-
lish a determination under paragraph (1) not later 
than 90 days after receipt of an application for the 
permit. 
(3) VERIFICATION.—The lead agency shall pub-
lish a determination that the factors under para-
graph (1) have been sufficiently addressed and pub-
lic participation has occurred with regard to any au-
thorizing actions before issuing any mineral explo-
ration or mine permit. 
(d) SCHEDULE
FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—For 
any project for which the lead agency cannot make the 
determination described in (c), at the request of a project 
sponsor, the lead agency, cooperating agencies, and any 
other agencies involved with the mineral exploration or 
mine permitting process shall enter into an agreement 
with the project sponsor that sets time limits for each part 
of the permitting process, including— 
(1) the decision on whether to prepare an envi-
ronmental impact statement or similar analysis re-
quired under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 
(2) a determination of the scope of any environ-
mental impact statement or similar analysis required 
under such Act; 
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(3) the scope of, and schedule for, the baseline 
studies required to prepare an environmental impact 
statement or similar analysis required under such 
Act; 
(4) preparation of any draft environmental im-
pact statement or similar analysis required under 
such Act; 
(5) preparation of a final environmental impact 
statement or similar analysis required under such 
Act; 
(6) any consultations required under applicable 
law; 
(7) submission and review of any comments re-
quired under applicable law; 
(8) publication of any public notices required 
under applicable law; and 
(9) any final or interim decisions. 
(e) ADDRESSING PUBLIC COMMENTS.—As part of 
the review process under the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the lead agency 
may not address any agency or public comments that were 
not submitted— 
(1) during a public comment period or consulta-
tion period provided during the permitting process; 
or 
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(2) as otherwise required by law. 
(f) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a 
report that— 
(1) identifies additional measures (including 
regulatory and legislative proposals, as appropriate) 
that would increase the timeliness of permitting ac-
tivities for the exploration and development of do-
mestic critical minerals; 
(2) identifies options (including cost recovery 
paid by permit applicants, as appropriate) for ensur-
ing adequate staffing and training of Federal enti-
ties and personnel responsible for the consideration 
of applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, per-
mits, and other use authorizations for critical min-
eral-related activities on Federal land; 
(3) quantifies the amount of time typically re-
quired (including range derived from minimum and 
maximum durations, mean, median, variance, and 
any other statistical measure or representation the 
Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture deter-
mine appropriate) to complete each step (including 
those aspects outside the control of the executive 
branch, such as judicial review, applicant decisions, 
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or State and local government involvement) associ-
ated with the development and processing of applica-
tions, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 
other use authorizations for critical mineral-related 
activities on Federal land; and 
(4) describes actions carried out pursuant to 
subsection (b). 
(g) PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of submission of the report under subsection 
(e), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, after 
providing public notice and an opportunity to comment, 
shall develop and publish a performance metric for evalu-
ating the progress made by the executive branch to expe-
dite the permitting of activities that will increase explo-
ration for, and development of, domestic critical minerals, 
while maintaining environmental standards. 
(h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning with the first 
budget submission by the President under section 1105 
of title 31, United States Code, after publication of the 
performance metric required under subsection (f), and an-
nually thereafter, the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the 
Interior shall jointly submit to Congress a report that— 
(1) summarizes the implementation of rec-
ommendations, measures, and options identified in 
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (f); 
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(2) using the performance metric under sub-
section (d), describes progress made by the executive 
branch, as compared to the baseline established pur-
suant to subsection (c)(3), on expediting the permit-
ting of activities that will increase exploration for, 
and development of, domestic critical minerals; and 
(3) compares the United States to other coun-
tries in terms of permitting efficiency and any other 
criteria relevant to the globally competitive critical 
minerals industry. 
(i) INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—Using data from the 
Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior generated 
under subsection (g), the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget shall prioritize inclusion of individual 
critical mineral projects on the website operated by the 
Office of Management and Budget in accordance with sec-
tion 1122 of title 31, United States Code. 
(j) REPORT
OF
SMALL
BUSINESS
ADMINISTRA-
TION.—Not later than 1 year and 300 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration shall submit to the Committees 
on Small Business and Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives and Small Business and Entrepreneur-
ship and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 
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