[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2011 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2011

 To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of 
the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future demands for 
 the minerals critical to United States manufacturing competitiveness 
  and economic and national security in a time of expanding resource 
                  nationalism, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 26, 2011

Mr. Lamborn (for himself, Mr. Hastings of Washington, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. 
     Bishop of Utah, Mr. Fleming, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Thompson of 
   Pennsylvania, Mr. Rivera, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Tipton, Mr. Harris, Mr. 
Fleischmann, Mr. Benishek, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Boren, Mr. Simpson, 
  Mr. Gallegly, Mrs. Lummis, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Matheson, Mr. 
Young of Alaska, and Mr. Duncan of Tennessee) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an assessment of 
the capability of the Nation to meet our current and future demands for 
 the minerals critical to United States manufacturing competitiveness 
  and economic and national security in a time of expanding resource 
                  nationalism, 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 ``National Strategic and Critical 
Minerals Policy Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the availability of minerals and metals is essential 
        for economic growth, national security, technological 
        innovation, and the manufacturing supply chain;
            (2) the exploration, production, processing, use, and 
        recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic 
        well-being, security, and general welfare of the Nation;
            (3) the industrialization of China and India has driven 
        demand for nonfuel mineral commodities, sparking a period of 
        resource nationalism exemplified by China's reduction and 
        stoppage of exports of rare-earth mineral elements necessary 
        for telecommunications, military technologies, medical devices, 
        and renewable energy technologies;
            (4) the United States has vast mineral resources but is 
        becoming increasingly dependent upon foreign sources;
            (5) 25 years ago the United States was dependent on foreign 
        sources for 30 nonfuel mineral materials, 6 of which were 
        entirely imported to meet the Nation's requirements and another 
        16 of which were imported to meet more than 60 percent of the 
        Nation's needs;
            (6) by 2010, United States import dependence for nonfuel 
        mineral materials more than doubled from 30 to 67 commodities, 
        18 commodities were imported entirely to meet the Nation's 
        requirements, and another 25 commodities required imports of 
        more than 50 percent;
            (7) it is essential to the national interest to ensure an 
        expanding and competitive manufacturing industry built upon a 
        healthy mining and minerals industry;
            (8) attracting investment necessary to maintain a 
        competitive and growing mining industry requires a fair, 
        predictable, and efficient regulatory framework;
            (9) the United States lacks a coherent national policy to 
        assure the availability of minerals essential to manufacturing, 
        national economic well-being and security, and global economic 
        competitiveness; and
            (10) the Nation's ability to compete and innovate requires 
        proper planning and preparation today to meet tomorrow's 
        mineral needs.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    (a) In General.--It is the continuing policy of the United States 
to promote an adequate and stable supply of minerals to maintain our 
Nation's economic well-being, security, and manufacturing, industrial, 
energy, and technological capabilities.
    (b) Policy Goals.--Implementation of the policy set forth in 
subsection (a) requires that the Federal Government coordinate the 
Federal departments and agencies responsible for ensuring that supply, 
to--
            (1) facilitate the availability, development, and 
        production of domestic mineral resources to meet national 
        needs, including the demands of the Nation's manufacturing 
        industry;
            (2) promote and encourage the development of economically 
        sound and stable domestic mining, minerals, metals, and 
        processing industries;
            (3) establish an assessment capability for identifying the 
        mineral demands, supply, and needs of our Nation; and
            (4) minimize duplication, needless paperwork, and delays in 
        the administration of Federal and State laws and regulations, 
        and issuance of permits and authorizations necessary to 
        explore, develop, and produce minerals and construct and 
        operate mineral-related facilities.

SEC. 4. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR REPORT ON ACCESS AND AUTHORIZATIONS 
              FOR MINERAL DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, through the 
Bureau of Land Management and the United States Geological Survey, and 
in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest 
Service Mineral and Geology Management Division), the Secretary of 
Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other appropriate 
Federal agencies, shall prepare, submit to Congress, and make available 
to the public a report that includes--
            (1) an assessment of the non-fossil-fuel mineral potential 
        of lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
        Management and the Forest Service and an identification of all 
        such lands that have been withdrawn, segregated, or otherwise 
        restricted from mineral exploration and development;
            (2) an assessment of--
                    (A) the mineral requirements to meet current and 
                emerging national security, economic, industrial 
                manufacturing, technological, and social needs;
                    (B) the Nation's reliance on foreign sources to 
                meet those needs; and
                    (C) the implications of mineral supply shortages or 
                disruptions;
            (3) a detailed description of the time required to process 
        mineral applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, 
        permits, and other use authorizations for mineral-related 
        activities on lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
        Land Management and the Forest Service, and identification of 
        measures that would streamline the processing of such 
        applications, such as elimination of overlapping requirements 
        or set deadlines;
            (4) an itemized list of all use authorizations referred to 
        in paragraph (3) for which applications are pending before the 
        Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, and the 
        length of time each of those applications has been pending;
            (5) an assessment of the impact of litigation on processing 
        or issuing mineral exploration and mine permits, identification 
        of the statutes the litigation was brought under, and the cost 
        to the agency or the Federal Government, including for payments 
        of attorney fees;
            (6) an update of the 2009 Economic Impact of the Department 
        of the Interior's Programs and Activities report to include 
        locatable minerals; and
            (7) an assessment of the Federal workforce with educational 
        degrees and expertise in economic geology, geochemistry, 
        mining, industrial minerals, metallurgy, metallurgical 
        engineering, and mining engineering, including--
                    (A) retirement eligibility and agency plans for 
                retention, recruitment, and succession planning;
                    (B) comparison of the existing Federal salaries and 
                recruitment and retention bonuses with the salaries, 
                recruitment incentives, and retention packages normally 
                offered in the mineral industry; and
                    (C) examination of the differences between Federal 
                and private financial packages for early-, mid-, and 
                late-career workers.
    (b) Progress Reports.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter for the following two 
years, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress and make 
available to the public a report that describes the progress made in 
reaching the policy goals described in section 3(b), including--
            (1) efforts to increase access to domestic supplies of 
        minerals, and facilitation of their production; and
            (2) implementation of recommendations contained in--
                    (A) the National Research Council reports--
                            (i) Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the 
                        U.S. Economy; and
                            (ii) Managing Minerals for a Twenty-First 
                        Century Military; and
                    (B) the current workforce study authorized in 
                sections 385 and 1830 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
                (119 Stat. 744, 1137).

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 
Interior to carry out this Act $1,000,000 for fiscal years 2012 and 
2013.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATUTORY MINING POLICIES.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting any provision 
of or requirement under the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 
U.S.C. 21a).
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