[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5030 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5030

To establish a National Critical Minerals Council within the Executive 
Office of the President to develop and coordinate the implementation of 
  a national critical mineral strategy for the United States, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 12, 2024

Mr. Hickenlooper (for himself and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                   Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a National Critical Minerals Council within the Executive 
Office of the President to develop and coordinate the implementation of 
  a national critical mineral strategy for the United States, 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 Critical Minerals Council 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERALS COUNCIL.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the National 
        Critical Minerals Council established by subsection (b).
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (3) Mining university.--The term ``mining university'' 
        means an institution of higher education with a mining, 
        metallurgical, geological, or mineral engineering program 
        accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and 
        Technology, Inc.
            (4) Senior executive branch official.--The term ``senior 
        executive branch official'' means any officer or employee 
        described in any of paragraphs (3) through (8) of section 
        13103(f) of title 5, United States Code.
    (b) Establishment.--There is established in the Executive Office of 
the President a National Critical Minerals Council.
    (c) Objectives.--The objectives of the Council are to develop and 
coordinate the implementation of a national critical mineral strategy 
for the United States--
            (1) to reduce reliance on foreign adversaries for mineral 
        imports; and
            (2) to reduce single points of failure in the mineral 
        supply chain of the United States.
    (d) Staff.--
            (1) Chair.--The Council shall be chaired by the Vice 
        President.
            (2) Membership.--The Council shall comprise such heads of 
        executive agencies (as defined in section 105 of title 5, 
        United States Code) and senior executive branch officials as 
        the President determines to be appropriate.
            (3) Support.--
                    (A) Chief minerals advisor.--
                            (i) Appointment.--The President shall 
                        appoint a Chief Minerals Advisor.
                            (ii) Duties.--The Chief Minerals Advisor 
                        shall--
                                    (I) carry out the day-to-day 
                                operations of the Council;
                                    (II) serve as the Executive 
                                Secretary of the Council; and
                                    (III) report to the Vice President.
                    (B) Other staff.--In addition to the Chief Minerals 
                Advisor, the Council may employ not more than 5 
                employees to carry out the duties of the Council.
    (e) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the Council 
        shall--
                    (A) coordinate mining and mineral research, 
                development, deployment, and commercialization funding 
                priorities and opportunities across all Federal 
                agencies and develop a central platform on which the 
                opportunities may be viewed and applications may be 
                submitted;
                    (B) take actions to improve the visibility of the 
                United States as a preferred partner for critical 
                mineral projects and agreements in comparison to 
                foreign adversaries, including collaborating with non-
                United States entities and governments from allied 
                nations;
                    (C) coordinate with relevant Federal agencies to 
                consistently and proactively track investments in 
                critical mineral and mining-related projects around the 
                world made by the People's Republic of China and other 
                foreign adversaries, as determined by the Chief 
                Minerals Advisor;
                    (D) work with experts described in paragraph 
                (3)(A)--
                            (i) to prioritize 5 critical minerals, as 
                        determined by the Chief Minerals Advisor, and 
                        identify the top challenges and necessary 
                        interventions associated with securing stable 
                        supply chains for those prioritized critical 
                        minerals; and
                            (ii) to expand the list of prioritized 
                        critical minerals under clause (i) to include 
                        additional critical minerals, as determined by 
                        the Chief Minerals Advisor; and
                    (E) carry out other activities, as determined by 
                the Chief Minerals Advisor, to fulfill the objectives 
                described in subsection (c).
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the Council 
        identifies critical minerals for prioritization under 
        subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1), and every year thereafter, 
        the Chief Minerals Advisor shall submit to the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources 
        and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives, a report describing--
                    (A) the critical minerals selected for 
                prioritization under that subparagraph; and
                    (B) the top challenges and necessary interventions 
                identified under that subparagraph.
            (3) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Council may consult experts in mineral supply chains, 
        including--
                    (A) experts from--
                            (i) mining universities and other 
                        institutions of higher education, including--
                                    (I) Tribal colleges;
                                    (II) historically Black colleges 
                                and universities; and
                                    (III) community colleges;
                            (ii) National Laboratories;
                            (iii) relevant private industries;
                            (iv) Federal agencies; and
                            (v) non-Federal organizations; and
                    (B) individuals from--
                            (i) State and local governments; and
                            (ii) Indian Tribes (as defined in section 4 
                        of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
                        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)).
    (f) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a report that 
describes--
            (1) the composition and function of the Council;
            (2) a national critical mineral strategy to achieve the 
        objectives described in subsection (c); and
            (3) an implementation plan that--
                    (A) describes how represented agencies intend to 
                carry out the national critical mineral strategy; and
                    (B) includes clear benchmarks to evaluate how the 
                strategy and implementation plan are fulfilling the 
                objectives described in subsection (c).
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