[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 88 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3248-S3249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1796. Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him 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:

       Strike section 2214 and insert the following:

     SEC. 2214. CRITICAL MINERALS MINING, RECYCLING, AND 
                   ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH.

       (a) Critical Minerals Mining, Recycling, and Alternative 
     Technologies Research and Development at the Foundation.--
       (1) In general.--In order to support supply chain 
     resiliency and reduce the environmental impacts of critical 
     minerals mining, the Director shall issue awards, on a 
     competitive basis, to institutions of higher education, 
     nonprofit organizations, or National Laboratories (or 
     consortia of such institutions or organizations, including 
     consortia that collaborate with private industry) to support 
     basic research that will accelerate innovation to advance 
     critical minerals mining, recycling, and reclamation 
     strategies and technologies for the purpose of making better 
     use of domestic resources, finding alternative technologies, 
     and eliminating national reliance on minerals and mineral 
     materials that are subject to supply disruptions.
       (2) Use of funds.--Activities funded by an award under this 
     section may include--
       (A) advancing mining research and development activities to 
     develop new mapping and mining technologies and techniques, 
     including advanced critical mineral extraction and 
     production, to improve existing or to develop new supply 
     chains of critical minerals, and to yield more efficient, 
     economical, and environmentally benign mining practices;
       (B) advancing critical mineral processing research 
     activities to improve separation, alloying, manufacturing, or 
     recycling techniques and technologies that can decrease the 
     energy intensity, waste, potential environmental impact, and 
     costs of those activities;
       (C) advancing research and development of critical minerals 
     mining and recycling technologies that take into account the 
     potential end-uses and disposal of critical minerals, in 
     order to improve end-to-end integration of mining and 
     technological applications;
       (D) conducting research and development on alternative 
     technologies, such as in battery or energy storage 
     technologies that minimize or do not incorporate critical 
     minerals;
       (E) conducting long-term earth observation of reclaimed 
     mine sites, including the study of the evolution of microbial 
     diversity at such sites;
       (F) examining the application of artificial intelligence 
     for geological exploration of critical minerals, including 
     what size and diversity of data sets would be required;
       (G) examining the application of machine learning for 
     detection and sorting of critical minerals, including what 
     size and diversity of data sets would be required;
       (H) conducting detailed isotope studies of critical 
     minerals and the development of more refined geologic models; 
     or
       (I) providing training and research opportunities to 
     undergraduate and graduate students to prepare the next 
     generation of mining engineers and researchers.
       (b) Critical Minerals Interagency Subcommittee.--
       (1) In general.--In order to support supply chain 
     resiliency, the Critical Minerals Subcommittee of the 
     National Science and Technology Council (referred to in this 
     subsection as the ``Subcommittee'') shall coordinate Federal 
     science and technology efforts to ensure secure and reliable 
     supplies of critical minerals to the United States.
       (2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Subcommittee shall be--
       (A) to advise and assist the Committee on Homeland and 
     National Security and the National Science and Technology 
     Council on United States policies, procedures, and plans as 
     it relates to critical minerals, including--
       (i) Federal research, development, and deployment efforts 
     to optimize methods for extractions, concentration, 
     separation, and purification of conventional, secondary, and 
     unconventional sources of critical minerals, including 
     research that prioritizes end-to-end integration of mining 
     and recycling techniques and the end-use target for critical 
     minerals;
       (ii) efficient use and reuse of critical minerals, 
     including recycling technologies for critical minerals and 
     the reclamation of critical minerals from components such as 
     spent batteries;
       (iii) research, development, and deployment of materials 
     and technologies that can be used in place of technologies 
     utilizing critical minerals, such as battery or energy 
     storage technologies that minimize or do not incorporate 
     critical minerals;
       (iv) addressing the technology transitions between research 
     or lab-scale mining and recycling and commercialization of 
     these technologies;
       (v) the critical minerals workforce of the United States; 
     and
       (vi) United States private industry investments in 
     innovation and technology transfer from federally funded 
     science and technology;
       (B) to identify emerging opportunities, stimulate 
     international cooperation, and foster the development of 
     secure and reliable supply chains of critical minerals, 
     including activities related to the reclamation of critical 
     minerals via recycling and research and development of 
     alternative technologies;
       (C) to ensure the transparency of information and data 
     related to critical minerals; and
       (D) to provide recommendations on coordination and 
     collaboration among the research, development, and deployment 
     programs and activities of Federal agencies to promote a 
     secure and reliable supply of critical minerals necessary to 
     maintain national security, economic well-being, and 
     industrial production.
       (3) Responsibilities.--In carrying out paragraphs (1) and 
     (2), the Subcommittee may, taking into account the findings 
     and recommendations of relevant advisory committees--
       (A) provide recommendations on how Federal agencies may 
     improve the topographic, geologic, and geophysical mapping of 
     the United States and improve the discoverability, 
     accessibility, and usability of the resulting and existing 
     data, to the extent permitted by law and subject to 
     appropriate limitation for purposes of privacy and security;
       (B) assess the progress toward developing critical minerals 
     recycling and reprocessing technologies, and alternative 
     technologies;
       (C) assess the end-to-end lifecycle of critical minerals, 
     including for mining, usage, recycling, and end-use material 
     and technology requirements;
       (D) examine options for accessing and developing critical 
     minerals through investment and trade with allies and 
     partners of the United States and provide recommendations;
       (E) evaluate and provide recommendations to incentivize the 
     development and use of advances in science and technology in 
     the private industry;
       (F) assess the need for and make recommendations to address 
     the challenges the United States critical minerals supply 
     chain workforce faces, including--
       (i) aging and retiring personnel and faculty;
       (ii) public perceptions about the nature of mining and 
     mineral processing; and
       (iii) foreign competition for United States talent;
       (G) develop, and update as necessary, a strategic plan to 
     guide Federal programs and activities to enhance--
       (i) scientific and technical capabilities across critical 
     mineral supply chains, including a roadmap that identifies 
     key research and development needs and coordinates ongoing 
     activities for source diversification, more efficient use, 
     recycling, and alternative technologies; and
       (ii) cross-cutting mining science, data science techniques, 
     materials science, manufacturing science and engineering, 
     computational modeling, and environmental health and safety 
     research and development; and
       (H) report to the appropriate committees of Congress on 
     activities and findings under this subsection.
       (4) Mandatory responsibilities.--In carrying out paragraphs 
     (1) and (2), the Subcommittee shall, taking into account the 
     findings and recommendations of the relevant advisory 
     committees, identify and evaluate Federal policies and 
     regulations that restrict the mining of critical minerals.
       (c) Grant Program for Development of Critical Minerals and 
     Metals .--
       (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Commerce, in 
     consultation with the Director, the Secretary of the 
     Interior, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 
     shall establish a grant program to finance pilot projects for 
     the development of critical minerals and metals mining, 
     recycling, and alternative technologies research and 
     development in the United States.
       (2) Limitation on grant awards.--A grant awarded under 
     paragraph (1) may not exceed $10,000,000.
       (3) Economic viability.--In awarding grants under paragraph 
     (1), the Secretary of Commerce shall give priority to 
     projects that the Secretary of Commerce determines are likely 
     to be economically viable over the long term.
       (4) Secondary recovery.--In awarding grants under paragraph 
     (1), the Secretary of Commerce shall seek to award not less 
     than 30 percent of the total amount of grants awarded during 
     the fiscal year for projects relating to secondary recovery 
     of critical minerals and metals.
       (5) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce $100,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2024 to carry out the 
     grant program established under paragraph (1).
       (d) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Alternative technologies.--The term ``alternative 
     technologies'' means the development of substitute materials 
     that can substantially satisfy the metrics of the end-use 
     application by either significantly minimizing or completely 
     eliminating the need for critical minerals.
       (2) Critical mineral; critical mineral or metal.--The terms 
     ``critical mineral'' and ``critical mineral or metal'' 
     include any host

[[Page S3249]]

     mineral of a critical mineral (within the meaning of those 
     terms in section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 
     1606).
       (3) End-to-end.--The term ``end-to-end'', with respect to 
     the integration of mining or life cycle of minerals, means 
     the integrated approach of, or the lifecycle determined by, 
     examining the research and developmental process from the 
     mining of the raw minerals to its processing into useful 
     materials, its integration into components and devices, the 
     utilization of such devices in the end-use application to 
     satisfy certain performance metrics, and the recycling or 
     disposal of such devices.
       (4) Recycling.--The term ``recycling'' means the process of 
     collecting and processing spent materials and devices and 
     turning them into raw materials or components that can be 
     reused either partially or completely.
       (5) Secondary recovery.--The term ``secondary recovery'' 
     means the recovery of critical minerals and metals from 
     discarded end-use products or from waste products produced 
     during the metal refining and manufacturing process, 
     including from mine waste piles, acid mine drainage sludge, 
     or byproducts produced through legacy mining and metallurgy 
     activities.
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