[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 383 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 383

To promote the domestic production of critical minerals and materials, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 17, 2011

  Mr. Udall of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote the domestic production of critical minerals and materials, 
                        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 Minerals and Materials 
Promotion Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF CRITICAL MINERALS AND MATERIALS.

    In this Act:
            (1) In general.--The term ``critical minerals and 
        materials'' means naturally occurring, nonliving, nonfuel 
        substances with a definite chemical composition--
                    (A) that perform an essential function for which no 
                satisfactory substitutes exist; and
                    (B) the supply of which has a high probability of 
                becoming restricted, leading to physical unavailability 
                or excessive costs for the applicable minerals and 
                materials in key applications.
            (2) Exclusions.--The term ``critical minerals and 
        materials'' does not include ice, water, or snow.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO DETERMINE PRESENCE OF AND FUTURE NEEDS FOR CRITICAL 
              MINERALS AND MATERIALS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
United States Geological Survey, shall establish a research and 
development program--
            (1) to provide data and scientific analyses for research 
        on, and assessments of the potential for, undiscovered and 
        discovered resources of critical minerals and materials in the 
        United States and other countries; and
            (2) to analyze and assess current and future critical 
        minerals and materials supply chains--
                    (A) with advice from the Energy Information 
                Administration on future energy technology market 
                penetration; and
                    (B) using the Mineral Commodity Summaries produced 
                by the United States Geological Survey.
    (b) Global Supply Chain.--The Secretary shall, if appropriate, 
cooperate with international partners to ensure that the program 
established under subsection (a) provides analyses of the global supply 
chain of critical minerals and materials.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM TO STRENGTHEN THE DOMESTIC CRITICAL MINERALS AND 
              MATERIALS SUPPLY CHAIN FOR CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES.

    The Secretary of Energy shall conduct a program of research, 
development, and demonstration to strengthen the domestic critical 
minerals and materials supply chain for clean energy technologies and 
to ensure the long-term, secure, and sustainable supply of critical 
minerals and materials sufficient to strengthen the national security 
of the United States and meet the clean energy production needs of the 
United States, including--
            (1) critical minerals and materials production, processing, 
        and refining;
            (2) minimization of critical minerals and materials in 
        energy technologies;
            (3) recycling of critical minerals and materials; and
            (4) substitutes for critical minerals and materials in 
        energy technologies.

SEC. 5. STRENGTHENING EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN MINERAL AND MATERIAL 
              SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FOR CRITICAL MINERALS AND 
              MATERIALS PRODUCTION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall promote the 
development of the critical minerals and materials industry workforce 
in the United States.
    (b) Support.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
support--
            (1) critical minerals and materials education by providing 
        undergraduate and graduate scholarships and fellowships at 
        institutions of higher education, including technical and 
        community colleges;
            (2) partnerships between industry and institutions of 
        higher education, including technical and community colleges, 
        to provide onsite job training; and
            (3) development of courses and curricula on critical 
        minerals and materials.

SEC. 6. SUPPLY OF CRITICAL MINERALS AND MATERIALS.

    (a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to promote an 
adequate and stable supply of critical minerals and materials necessary 
to maintain national security, economic well-being, and industrial 
production with appropriate attention to a long-term balance between 
resource production, energy use, a healthy environment, natural 
resources conservation, and social needs.
    (b) Implementation.--To implement the policy described in 
subsection (a), the President, acting through the Executive Office of 
the President, shall--
            (1) coordinate the actions of applicable Federal agencies;
            (2) identify critical minerals and materials needs and 
        establish early warning systems for critical minerals and 
        materials supply problems;
            (3) establish a mechanism for the coordination and 
        evaluation of Federal critical minerals and materials programs, 
        including programs involving research and development, in a 
        manner that complements related efforts carried out by the 
        private sector and other domestic and international agencies 
        and organizations;
            (4) promote and encourage private enterprise in the 
        development of economically sound and stable domestic critical 
        minerals and materials supply chains;
            (5) promote and encourage the recycling of critical 
        minerals and materials, taking into account the logistics, 
        economic viability, environmental sustainability, and research 
        and development needs for completing the recycling process;
            (6) assess the need for and make recommendations concerning 
        the availability and adequacy of the supply of technically 
        trained personnel necessary for critical minerals and materials 
        research, development, extraction, and industrial practice, 
        with a particular focus on the problem of attracting and 
        maintaining high-quality professionals for maintaining an 
        adequate supply of critical minerals and materials; and
            (7) report to Congress on activities and findings under 
        this subsection.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as are necessary.
                                 <all>