[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3686 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3686

To authorize the Economic Development Administration to make grants to 
    producers of taconite for implementation of new technologies to 
increase productivity, to reduce costs, and to improve overall product 
                        quality and performance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 8, 2003

 Mr. Oberstar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Economic Development Administration to make grants to 
    producers of taconite for implementation of new technologies to 
increase productivity, to reduce costs, and to improve overall product 
                        quality and performance.

    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 ``Taconite Research Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) maintaining our Nation's domestic steel industry is 
        essential to a peacetime or wartime economy and critical to our 
        national defense;
            (2) about 98 percent of taconite is used in the iron and 
        steel industry;
            (3) taconite is the principal iron ore mined in the United 
        States;
            (4) Minnesota's iron ore mining industry is vital to the 
        State's economy, is ranked 8th nationally in total nonfuel 
        mineral production, and employs approximately 4,000 people;
            (5) Minnesota's taconite production has decreased by 
        14,000,000 metric tons since 1998;
            (6) Northeastern Minnesota, which is heavily dependent on 
        the taconite industry that needs new technologies, has at least 
        100 years of those reserves that can be economically produced; 
        and
            (7) the Natural Resources Research Institute of the 
        University of Minnesota has developed improvements based on new 
        technologies that taconite producing companies can implement, 
        which will reduce production costs, improve the quality of 
        taconite pellets, and produce a value-added high iron ore 
        content commodity.

SEC. 3. GRANT AUTHORITY.

    The Economic Development Administration is authorized to make 
grants to producers of taconite to implement new technologies to 
increase productivity, to reduce costs, and to improve overall product 
quality and performance.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$100,000,000. Such sums shall remain authorized until expended.
                                 <all>