[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 912

  To require the Secretary of Energy to provide technology grants to 
     strengthen domestic mining education, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 22, 2023

  Mr. Barrasso (for himself and Mr. Manchin) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Energy to provide technology grants to 
     strengthen domestic mining education, 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 ``Technology Grants to Strengthen 
Domestic Mining Education Act of 2023'' or the ``Mining Schools Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. TECHNOLOGY GRANTS TO STRENGTHEN DOMESTIC MINING EDUCATION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Mining 
        Professional Development Advisory Board established by 
        subsection (d)(1).
            (2) Mining industry.--The term ``mining industry'' means 
        the mining industry of the United States, consisting of the 
        search for, and extraction, beneficiation, refining, smelting, 
        and processing of, naturally occurring metal and nonmetal 
        minerals from the earth.
            (3) Mining profession.--The term ``mining profession'' 
        means the body of jobs directly relevant to--
                    (A) the exploration, planning, execution, and 
                remediation of metal and nonmetal mining sites; and
                    (B) the extraction, including the separation, 
                refining, alloying, smelting, concentration, and 
                processing, of mineral ores.
            (4) Mining school.--The term ``mining school'' means--
                    (A) a mining, metallurgical, geological, or mineral 
                engineering program accredited by the Accreditation 
                Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., that is 
                located at an institution of higher education (as 
                defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 
                1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); or
                    (B) a geology or engineering program or department 
                that is located at a 4-year public institution of 
                higher education (as so defined) located in a State the 
                gross domestic product of which in 2021 was not less 
                than $2,000,000,000 in the combined categories of 
                ``Mining (except oil and gas)'' and ``Support 
                activities for mining'', according to the Bureau of 
                Economic Analysis.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
    (b) Domestic Mining Education Strengthening Program.--The 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior (acting 
through the Director of the United States Geological Survey), shall--
            (1) establish a grant program to strengthen domestic mining 
        education; and
            (2) under the program established in paragraph (1), award 
        competitive grants to mining schools for the purpose of 
        recruiting and educating the next generation of mining 
        engineers and other qualified professionals to meet the future 
        energy and mineral needs of the United States.
    (c) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the grant program 
        established under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall award 
        not more than 10 grants each year to mining schools.
            (2) Selection requirements.--
                    (A) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, 
                the Secretary shall select recipients for grants under 
                paragraph (1) to ensure geographic diversity among 
                grant recipients to ensure that region-specific 
                specialties are developed for region-specific geology.
                    (B) Timeline.--The Secretary shall award the grants 
                under paragraph (1) by not later than the later of--
                            (i) the date that is 180 days after the 
                        start of the applicable fiscal year; and
                            (ii) the date that is 180 days after the 
                        date on which the Act making full-year 
                        appropriations for the Department of Energy for 
                        the applicable fiscal year is enacted.
            (3) Recommendations of the board.--
                    (A) In general.--In selecting recipients for grants 
                under paragraph (1) and determining the amount of each 
                grant, the Secretary, to the maximum extent 
                practicable, shall take into consideration the 
                recommendations of the Board under subparagraphs (A) 
                and (B) of subsection (d)(3).
                    (B) Selection statement.--In selecting recipients 
                for grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
                            (i) in response to a recommendation from 
                        the Board, submit to the Board a statement that 
                        describes--
                                    (I) whether the Secretary accepts 
                                or rejects, in whole or in part, the 
                                recommendation of the Board; and
                                    (II) the justification and 
                                rationale for any rejection, in whole 
                                or in part, of the recommendation of 
                                the Board; and
                            (ii) not later than 15 days after awarding 
                        a grant for which the Board submitted a 
                        recommendation, publish the statement submitted 
                        under clause (i) on the Department of Energy 
                        website.
            (4) Use of funds.--A mining school receiving a grant under 
        paragraph (1) shall use the grant funds--
                    (A) to recruit students to the mining school; and
                    (B) to enhance and support programs related to, as 
                applicable--
                            (i) mining, mineral extraction efficiency, 
                        and related processing technology;
                            (ii) emphasizing critical mineral and rare 
                        earth element exploration, extraction, and 
                        refining;
                            (iii) reclamation technology and practices 
                        for active mining operations;
                            (iv) the development of reprocessing 
                        systems and technologies that facilitate 
                        reclamation that fosters the recovery of 
                        resources at abandoned mine sites;
                            (v) mineral extraction methods that reduce 
                        environmental and human impacts;
                            (vi) technologies to extract, refine, 
                        separate, smelt, or produce minerals, including 
                        rare earth elements;
                            (vii) reducing dependence on foreign energy 
                        and mineral supplies through increased domestic 
                        critical mineral production;
                            (viii) enhancing the competitiveness of 
                        United States energy and mineral technology 
                        exports;
                            (ix) the extraction or processing of 
                        coinciding mineralization, including rare earth 
                        elements, within coal, coal processing 
                        byproduct, overburden, or coal residue;
                            (x) enhancing technologies and practices 
                        relating to mitigation of acid mine drainage, 
                        reforestation, and revegetation in the 
                        reclamation of land and water resources 
                        adversely affected by mining;
                            (xi) enhancing exploration and 
                        characterization of new or novel deposits, 
                        including rare earth elements and critical 
                        minerals within phosphate rocks, uranium-
                        bearing deposits, and other nontraditional 
                        sources;
                            (xii) meeting challenges of extreme mining 
                        conditions, such as deeper deposits or offshore 
                        or cold region mining; and
                            (xiii) mineral economics, including 
                        analysis of supply chains, future mineral 
                        needs, and unconventional mining resources.
    (d) Mining Professional Development Advisory Board.--
            (1) In general.--There is established an advisory board, to 
        be known as the ``Mining Professional Development Advisory 
        Board''.
            (2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 6 members, 
        to be appointed by the Secretary not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, of whom--
                    (A) 3 shall be individuals who are actively working 
                in the mining profession and for the mining industry; 
                and
                    (B) 3 shall have experience in academia 
                implementing and operating professional skills training 
                and education programs in the mining sector.
            (3) Duties.--The Board shall--
                    (A) evaluate grant applications received under 
                subsection (c) and make recommendations to the 
                Secretary for selection of grant recipients under that 
                subsection;
                    (B) propose the amount of the grant for each 
                applicant recommended to be selected under subparagraph 
                (A); and
                    (C) perform oversight to ensure that grant funds 
                awarded under subsection (c) are used for the purposes 
                described in paragraph (4) of that subsection.
            (4) Term.--A member of the Board shall serve for a term of 
        4 years.
            (5) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Board--
                    (A) shall not affect the powers of the Board; and
                    (B) shall be filled in the same manner as the 
                original appointment was made by not later than 180 
                days after the date on which the vacancy occurs.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2031.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF THE MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
              ACT OF 1984.

    The Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute Act of 1984 (30 
U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is repealed.
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