[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4824. Mr. BARRASSO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed 
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1064. ENSURING CONSIDERATION OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY 
                   IMPACTS OF URANIUM AS A CRITICAL MINERAL.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense, in coordination 
     with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior 
     (acting through the Director of the United States Geological 
     Survey), and the Secretary of Commerce, shall conduct an 
     assessment of the effect on national security that may result 
     from uranium ceasing to be designated as a critical mineral 
     by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 7002(c) 
     of the Energy Act of 2020 (division Z of Public Law 116-260; 
     30 U.S.C. 1606(c)).
       (b) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 
     to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
     findings of the assessment conducted under subsection (a), 
     including an assessment of--
       (1) any effects the change in designation described in that 
     subsection may have on domestic uranium production;
       (2) any effects of the reliance of the United States on 
     imports of uranium from foreign sources, including from 
     state-owned entities, to supply fuel for commercial reactors;
       (3) the effects of such reliance and other factors on the 
     domestic production, conversion, fabrication, and enrichment 
     of uranium as it relates to national security, including 
     energy security purposes; and
       (4) any effects on Federal national security programs, 
     including existing and future uses of unobligated, United 
     States-origin uranium.
       (c) Recommendation on Uranium Critical Mineral 
     Designation.--The report required by subsection (b) shall 
     include a recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior 
     regarding whether it is in the interest of the United States 
     to consider uranium for future designation as a critical 
     mineral pursuant to section 7002(c) of the Energy Act of 2020 
     (division Z of Public Law 116-260; 30 U.S.C. 1606(c)).
       (d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Natural Resources 
     of the House of Representatives.
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