Title: CRITICAL Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
CRITICAL Act
This bill directs the General Services Administration (GSA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of the Interior to take specified actions with respect to electronic recycling and critical mineral extraction.
Specifically, the GSA shall establish an electronic recycling program that services each executive agency.
The EPA shall (1) establish a program to ensure that electronics collected under the agency recycling program are entered into a certified recycling stream for dismantling and refining by certified entities; (2) ensure that refined critical minerals developed through the certified recycling stream program are retained in the United States for use by industry; and (3) award prizes for the development of E-waste recycling systems, with a goal of increasing the collection of recyclable electronics.
Interior shall study and report on critical mineral extraction, evaluating, among other things, the total quantity of recoverable critical minerals from all certified recycling streams, as compared to the total quantity of critical minerals necessary for manufacturing, consumer products, and national defense in the United States.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4109 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4109

To require the Administrator of General Services to establish an agency 
         electronic recycling program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 30, 2020

 Mr. Burr (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Manchin) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Administrator of General Services to establish an agency 
         electronic recycling program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``CRITICAL Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency recycling program.--The term ``agency recycling 
        program'' means the recycling program established in section 
        3(a).
            (2) Battery.--The term ``battery''--
                    (A) means a battery or a rechargeable battery; and
                    (B) does not include a battery contained in a 
                medical device.
            (3) Certified entity.--The term ``certified entity'' means 
        a refiner or recycler that has a certification under a standard 
        described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4).
            (4) Certified recycling stream.--The term ``certified 
        recycling stream'' means a stream of recycling that is 
        certified under--
                    (A) the R2 Standard; or
                    (B) the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible 
                Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment.
            (5) Certified recycling stream program.--The term 
        ``certified recycling stream program'' means the program 
        established in section 4(a).
            (6) Covered electronic.--The term ``covered electronic'' 
        means--
                    (A) a consumer electronic device that--
                            (i) uses a battery or a related technology; 
                        or
                            (ii) contains a critical mineral; or
                    (B) any other electronic device that the 
                Administrator, in coordination with the Administrator 
                of the Environmental Protection Agency, determines to 
                be acceptable.
            (7) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 2 of Executive Order 
        13817 (30 U.S.C. 1601 note; relating to secure and reliable 
        supplies of critical minerals).
            (8) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (9) Medical device.--The term ``medical device'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``device'' in section 201(h) of the 
        Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(h)).

SEC. 3. AGENCY RECYCLING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall 
establish an electronic recycling program that services each Executive 
agency.
    (b) Objects Recycled.--The agency recycling program shall collect 
covered electronics from the Executive agency that are--
            (1) owned by the Executive agency;
            (2) determined by the Executive agency to be--
                    (A) excess;
                    (B) not suitable for sale; and
                    (C) not appropriate for donation; and
            (3) selected by the Executive agency for disposal.
    (c) Data Security.--In administering the agency recycling program, 
the Administrator of General Services shall develop procedures to 
protect the data stored on the covered electronics of an Executive 
agency collected under subsection (b).

SEC. 4. CERTIFIED RECYCLING STREAM PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, in consultation with the Administrator of 
        General Services and the Secretary of Energy, shall establish a 
        program to ensure that all covered electronics collected under 
        the agency recycling program are entered into a certified 
        recycling stream for dismantling and refining by certified 
        entities.
            (2) Partnerships.--In carrying out the certified recycling 
        stream program, the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency shall partner with certified entities to 
        improve recycling streams and refining processes for covered 
        electronics.
    (b) Priority Products.--In carrying out the certified recycling 
stream program, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall give priority to ensuring that covered electronics 
containing critical minerals are entered into certified recycling 
streams.
    (c) Federal Recoupment of Costs.--In administering the certified 
recycling stream program, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Administrator of General Services may recoup 
the costs of collecting covered electronics--
            (1) by charging fees to certified entities that seek to 
        access the electronics and base materials that are refined from 
        covered electronics for the purpose of reentering the extracted 
        critical minerals into the supply chain; and
            (2) by selling the collected covered electronics to 
        certified entities to recycle and refine so that the recycled 
        materials may be reused.
    (d) Retention of Refined Critical Materials in the United States.--
In carrying out the certified recycling stream program, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall ensure, to 
the extent practicable, that refined critical minerals developed 
through the certified recycling stream program are retained in the 
United States for use by industry.

SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT ON CRITICAL MINERAL EXTRACTION.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall conduct, and submit to Congress a 
report describing the results of, a study to evaluate--
            (1) as of the date of the study, the quantity of critical 
        minerals that have been extracted from covered electronics 
        collected under the agency recycling program and entered into a 
        certified recycling stream under the certified recycling stream 
        program;
            (2) the quantity of critical minerals that could be 
        extracted through a similar voluntary recycling program 
        established for the private sector; and
            (3) the total quantity of recoverable critical minerals 
        from all certified recycling streams, as compared to the total 
        quantity of critical minerals necessary for manufacturing, 
        consumer products, and national defense in the United States.

SEC. 6. E-WASTE RECYCLING CHALLENGE PRIZE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) E-waste recycling system.--The term ``E-waste recycling 
        system'' means a system to collect covered electronic waste 
        that can be sorted, dismantled, and preprocessed for recycling.
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        partnership of--
                    (A) 1 or more States, Indian tribes (as defined in 
                section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
                Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or units of 
                local government; and
                    (B) 1 or more businesses, institutions of higher 
                education, or nonprofit organizations.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) a State;
                    (B) the District of Columbia;
                    (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
                    (D) Guam;
                    (E) American Samoa;
                    (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands; and
                    (G) the United States Virgin Islands.
    (b) Authorization.--The Administrator shall award to eligible 
entities prizes for the development of E-waste recycling systems, with 
a goal of increasing the collection of recyclable covered electronics.
    (c) Activities.--Activities that are eligible for a prize under 
subsection (b) include--
            (1) the development of best practices for E-waste recycling 
        systems;
            (2) consumer awareness campaigns for E-waste recycling 
        systems;
            (3) outreach to public-private partnerships relating to E-
        waste recycling systems;
            (4) carrying out E-waste recycling systems; and
            (5) such other activities as the Administrator determines 
        to be appropriate.
    (d) Applications.--An eligible entity that has carried out 
activities described in subsection (c) and seeks to receive a prize 
under subsection (b) shall submit to the Administrator at application 
at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Administrator may require.
    (e) Criteria.--In selecting recipients of prizes under subsection 
(b), the Administrator may consider--
            (1) the applicants with the highest volume of covered 
        electronic waste collected per capita in the municipal region 
        served by the applicable E-waste recycling system;
            (2) the applicants with the lowest cost of collection per 
        pound of covered electronic waste collected;
            (3) the applicants with the greatest number of jobs created 
        or economic development generated; and
            (4) the applicants with the highest probability that the 
        applicable E-waste recycling system feeds into recycling by a 
        certified entity.
    (f) Prize Amount.--The amount of a prize under subsection (b) shall 
be not more than $100,000.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $5,000,000 
for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.
                                 <all>