[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 618 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 618

   To develop a rare earth materials program, to amend the National 
 Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2011

 Mr. Boswell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To develop a rare earth materials program, to amend the National 
 Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980, 
                        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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Rare Earths and 
Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2011''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
                     TITLE I--RARE EARTH MATERIALS

Sec. 101. Rare earth materials program.
Sec. 102. Rare earth materials loan guarantee program.
    TITLE II--NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS POLICY, RESEARCH, AND 
                              DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 201. Amendments to National Materials and Minerals Policy, 
                            Research and Development Act of 1980.
Sec. 202. Repeal.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate Congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (3) Rare earth materials.--The term ``rare earth 
        materials'' means any of the following chemical elements in any 
        of their physical forms or chemical combinations:
                    (A) Scandium.
                    (B) Yttrium.
                    (C) Lanthanum.
                    (D) Cerium.
                    (E) Praseodymium.
                    (F) Neodymium.
                    (G) Promethium.
                    (H) Samarium.
                    (I) Europium.
                    (J) Gadolinium.
                    (K) Terbium.
                    (L) Dysprosium.
                    (M) Holmium.
                    (N) Erbium.
                    (O) Thulium.
                    (P) Ytterbium.
                    (Q) Lutetium.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

                     TITLE I--RARE EARTH MATERIALS

SEC. 101. RARE EARTH MATERIALS PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--
            (1) In general.--There is established in the Department a 
        program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
        application to assure the long-term, secure, and sustainable 
        supply of rare earth materials sufficient to satisfy the 
        national security, economic well-being, and industrial 
        production needs of the United States.
            (2) Program activities.--The program shall support 
        activities to--
                    (A) better characterize and quantify virgin stocks 
                of rare earth materials using theoretical geochemical 
                research;
                    (B) explore, discover, and recover rare earth 
                materials using advanced science and technology;
                    (C) improve methods for the extraction, processing, 
                use, recovery, and recycling of rare earth materials;
                    (D) improve the understanding of the performance, 
                processing, and adaptability in engineering designs of 
                rare earth materials;
                    (E) identify and test alternative materials that 
                can be substituted for rare earth materials in 
                particular applications;
                    (F) engineer and test applications that--
                            (i) use recycled rare earth materials;
                            (ii) use alternative materials; or
                            (iii) seek to minimize rare earth materials 
                        content;
                    (G) collect, catalogue, archive, and disseminate 
                information on rare earth materials, including 
                scientific and technical data generated by the research 
                and development activities supported under this 
                section, and assist scientists and engineers in making 
                the fullest possible use of the data holdings; and
                    (H) facilitate information sharing and 
                collaboration among program participants and 
                stakeholders.
            (3) Improved processes and technologies.--To the maximum 
        extent practicable, the Secretary shall support new or 
        significantly improved processes and technologies as compared 
        to those currently in use in the rare earth materials industry.
            (4) Expanding participation.--The Secretary shall 
        encourage--
                    (A) multidisciplinary collaborations among program 
                participants; and
                    (B) extensive opportunities for students at 
                institutions of higher education, including 
                institutions listed under section 371(a) of the Higher 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)).
            (5) Consistency.--The program shall be consistent with the 
        policies and programs in the National Materials and Minerals 
        Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601 et 
        seq.).
            (6) International collaboration.--In carrying out the 
        program, the Secretary may collaborate, to the extent 
        practicable, on activities of mutual interest with the relevant 
        agencies of foreign countries with interests relating to rare 
        earth materials.
    (b) Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Within 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary 
        shall prepare and submit to the appropriate Congressional 
        committees a plan to carry out the program established under 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Specific requirements.--The plan shall include a 
        description of--
                    (A) the research and development activities to be 
                carried out by the program during the subsequent 2 
                years;
                    (B) the expected contributions of the program to 
                the creation of innovative methods and technologies for 
                the efficient and sustainable provision of rare earth 
                materials to the domestic economy;
                    (C) the criteria to be used to evaluate 
                applications for loan guarantees under section 1706 of 
                the Energy Policy Act of 2005;
                    (D) any projects receiving loan guarantee support 
                under such section and the status of such projects;
                    (E) how the program is promoting the broadest 
                possible participation by academic, industrial, and 
                other contributors; and
                    (F) actions taken or proposed that reflect 
                recommendations from the assessment conducted under 
                subsection (c) or the Secretary's rationale for not 
                taking action pursuant to any recommendation from such 
                assessment for plans submitted following the completion 
                of the assessment under such subsection.
            (3) Consultation.--In preparing each plan under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall consult with appropriate 
        representatives of industry, institutions of higher education, 
        Department of Energy national laboratories, professional and 
        technical societies, and other entities, as determined by the 
        Secretary.
    (c) Assessment.--
            (1) In general.--After the program has been in operation 
        for 4 years, the Secretary shall offer to enter into a contract 
        with the National Academy of Sciences under which the National 
        Academy shall conduct an assessment of the program under 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Inclusions.--The assessment shall include the 
        recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences that the 
        program should be--
                    (A) continued, accompanied by a description of any 
                improvements needed in the program; or
                    (B) terminated, accompanied by a description of the 
                lessons learned from the execution of the program.
            (3) Availability.--The assessment shall be made available 
        to Congress and the public upon completion.

SEC. 102. RARE EARTH MATERIALS LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

    (a) Amendment.--Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 1706. TEMPORARY PROGRAM FOR RARE EARTH MATERIALS REVITALIZATION.

    ``(a) In General.--As part of the program established in section 
101 of the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 
2011, the Secretary is authorized, only to the extent provided in 
advance in a subsequent appropriations act, to make guarantees under 
this title for the commercial application of new or significantly 
improved technologies (compared to technologies currently in use in the 
United States at the time the guarantee is issued) for the following 
categories of projects:
            ``(1) The separation and recovery of rare earth materials 
        from ores or other sources.
            ``(2) The preparation of rare earth materials in oxide, 
        metal, alloy, or other forms needed for national security, 
        economic well-being, or industrial production purposes.
            ``(3) The application of rare earth materials in the 
        production of improved--
                    ``(A) magnets;
                    ``(B) batteries;
                    ``(C) refrigeration systems;
                    ``(D) optical systems;
                    ``(E) electronics; and
                    ``(F) catalysis.
            ``(4) The application of rare earth materials in other 
        uses, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Timeliness.--The Secretary shall seek to minimize delay in 
approving loan guarantee applications, consistent with appropriate 
protection of taxpayer interests.
    ``(c) Cooperation.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
Secretary shall cooperate with appropriate private sector participants 
to achieve a complete rare earth materials production capability in the 
United States within 5 years after the date of enactment of the Rare 
Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2011.
    ``(d) Domestic Supply Chain.--In support of the objective in 
subsection (c) to achieve a rare earth materials production capability 
in the United States that includes the complete value chain described 
in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a), the Secretary may not 
award a guarantee for a project unless the project's proponent provides 
to the Secretary an assurance that the loan or guarantee shall be used 
to support the separation, recovery, preparation, or manufacturing of 
rare earth materials in the United States for customers within the 
United States unless insufficient domestic demand for such materials 
results in excess capacity.
    ``(e) Sunset.--The authority to enter into guarantees under this 
section shall expire on September 30, 2016.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1705 the following new item:

``Sec. 1706. Temporary program for rare earth materials 
                            revitalization.''.

    TITLE II--NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS POLICY, RESEARCH, AND 
                              DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS POLICY, 
              RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1980.

    (a) Program Plan.--Section 5 of the National Materials and Minerals 
Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``date of enactment of this Act'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``date of enactment of the Rare 
        Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2011'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``Federal Coordinating 
        Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology'' and 
        inserting ``National Science and Technology Council,'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Federal Emergency'' and all 
                that follows through ``Agency, and'';
                    (B) by striking ``appropriate shall'' and inserting 
                ``appropriate, shall'';
                    (C) by striking paragraph (1);
                    (D) in paragraph (2), by striking ``in the case'' 
                and all that follows through ``subsection,'';
                    (E) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (1); and
                    (F) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
            ``(2) assess the adequacy, accessibility, and stability of 
        the supply of materials necessary to maintain national 
        security, economic well-being, and industrial production.'';
            (4) by striking subsections (d) and (e); and
            (5) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (d).
    (b) Policy.--Section 3 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1602) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Congress declares that it'' and 
        inserting ``It''; and
            (2) by striking ``The Congress further declares that 
        implementation'' and inserting ``Implementation''.
    (c) Implementation.--Section 4 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1603) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``For the purpose'' and all that follows 
        through ``declares that the'' and inserting ``The''; and
            (2) by striking ``departments and agencies,'' and inserting 
        ``departments and agencies to implement the policies set forth 
        in section 3''.

SEC. 202. REPEAL.

    Title II of Public Law 98-373 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; 98 Stat. 
1248), also known as the National Critical Materials Act of 1984, is 
repealed.
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