[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1503. Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Cramer, Mrs.
Capito, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Daines, Mr.
Lankford, and Ms. Sinema) submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S.
1260, to establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in
the National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security,
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ____. CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAINS AND RELIABILITY.
(a) Definition of Critical Mineral.--In this section, the
term ``critical mineral'' has the meaning given the term in
section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C.
1606(a)).
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) critical minerals are fundamental to the economy,
competitiveness, and security of the United States;
(2) many critical minerals are only economic to recover
when combined with the production of a host mineral;
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, the critical mineral
needs of the United States should be satisfied by minerals
responsibly produced and recycled in the United States; and
(4) the Federal permitting process has been identified as
an impediment to mineral production and the mineral security
of the United States.
(c) Federal Permitting and Review Performance
Improvements.--To improve the quality and timeliness of
Federal permitting and review processes with respect to
critical mineral production on Federal land, the Secretary of
the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management, and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretaries''), to the maximum extent
practicable, shall complete the Federal permitting and review
processes with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, while
supporting vital economic growth, by--
(1) establishing and adhering to timelines and schedules
for the consideration of, and final decisions regarding,
applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and
other use authorizations for critical mineral-related
activities on Federal land;
(2) establishing clear, quantifiable, and temporal
permitting performance goals and tracking progress against
those goals;
(3) engaging in early collaboration among agencies, project
sponsors, and affected stakeholders--
(A) to incorporate and address the interests of those
parties; and
(B) to minimize delays;
(4) ensuring transparency and accountability by using cost-
effective information technology to collect and disseminate
information regarding individual projects and agency
performance;
(5) engaging in early and active consultation with State,
local, and Tribal governments--
(A) to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort;
(B) to resolve concerns; and
(C) to allow for concurrent, rather than sequential,
reviews;
(6) providing demonstrable improvements in the performance
of Federal permitting and review processes, including lower
costs and more timely decisions;
(7) expanding and institutionalizing Federal permitting and
review process improvements that have proven effective;
(8) developing mechanisms to better communicate priorities
and resolve disputes among agencies at the national,
regional, State, and local levels; and
(9) developing other practices, such as preapplication
procedures.
(d) Review and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit
to Congress a report that--
(1) identifies additional measures, including regulatory
and legislative proposals, if appropriate, that would
increase the timeliness of permitting activities for the
exploration and development of domestic critical minerals;
(2) identifies options, including cost recovery paid by
permit applicants, for ensuring adequate staffing and
training of Federal entities and personnel responsible for
the consideration of applications, operating plans, leases,
licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for critical
mineral-related activities on Federal land;
(3) quantifies the period of time typically required to
complete each step associated with the development and
processing of applications, operating plans, leases,
licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for critical
mineral-related activities on Federal land, including by--
(A) calculating the range, the mean, the median, the
variance, and other statistical measures or representations
of the period of time; and
(B) taking into account other aspects that affect the
period of time that are outside the control of the Executive
branch, such as judicial review, applicant decisions, or
State and local government involvement; and
(4) describes actions carried out pursuant to subsection
(c).
(e) Performance Metric.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of submission of the report under subsection (d), and
after providing public notice and an opportunity to comment,
the Secretaries, using as a baseline the period of time
quantified under paragraph (3) of that subsection, shall
develop and publish a performance metric for evaluating the
progress made by the Executive branch to expedite the
permitting of activities that will increase exploration for,
and development of, domestic critical minerals, while
maintaining environmental standards.
(f) Annual Reports.--Not later than the date on which the
President submits the first budget of the President under
section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, after
publication of the performance metric required under
subsection (e), and annually thereafter, the Secretaries
shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) summarizes the implementation of recommendations,
measures, and options identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (d);
(2) using the performance metric developed under subsection
(e), describes progress made by the Executive branch, as
compared to the baseline developed pursuant to subsection
(d)(3), in expediting the permitting of activities that will
increase exploration for, and development of, domestic
critical minerals; and
(3) compares the United States to other countries in terms
of permitting efficiency and any other criteria relevant to
the globally competitive critical minerals industry.
(g) Individual Projects.--Each year, using data contained
in the reports submitted under subsection (f), the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall prioritize
inclusion of individual critical mineral projects on the
website operated by the Office of Management and Budget in
accordance with section 1122 of title 31, United States Code.
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