[House Report 114-301]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress    }                                    {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {       114-301

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  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 1937) TO REQUIRE THE 
  SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR AND THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TO MORE 
   EFFICIENTLY DEVELOP DOMESTIC SOURCES OF THE MINERALS AND MINERAL 
    MATERIALS OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL IMPORTANCE TO UNITED STATES 
    ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY AND MANUFACTURING COMPETITIVENESS

                                _______
                                

  October 20, 2015.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

              Mr. Newhouse, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 481]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 481, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1937, the 
National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 
2015, under a structured rule. The resolution provides one hour 
of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural 
Resources. The resolution waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill. The resolution provides that the 
bill shall be considered as read. The resolution waives all 
points of order against provisions in the bill. The resolution 
makes in order only those amendments printed in this report. 
Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in 
this report, may be offered only by a Member designated in this 
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the 
time specified in this report equally divided and controlled by 
the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to 
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of 
the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The 
resolution waives all points of order against the amendments 
printed in this report. The resolution provides one motion to 
recommit with or without instructions.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
provisions in the bill, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments printed in this report, the Committee is not 
aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in 
nature.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion 
to report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, are printed below:

Rules Committee record vote No. 114

    Motion by Ms. Slaughter to report an open rule. Defeated: 
3-6

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Nay   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Yea
Mr. Cole........................................  ............  Mr. McGovern......................          Yea
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Nay   Mr. Hastings of Florida...........          Yea
Mr. Burgess.....................................  ............  Mr. Polis.........................  ............
Mr. Stivers.....................................          Nay
Mr. Collins.....................................          Nay
Mr. Byrne.......................................          Nay
Mr. Newhouse....................................  ............
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    1. Lowenthal (CA): Replaces the bills definition of 
``strategic and critical minerals'' with the accepted 
definition from the National Research Council. (10 minutes)
    2. Dingell (MI): Ensures that mining permits are fully 
reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act. (10 
minutes)
    3. Cartwright (PA): Strikes sections of the bill that would 
limit judicial review of agency actions and prevent the 
awarding of attorney's fees under the Equal Access to Justice 
Act. (10 minutes)
    4. Pearce (NM): Clarifies that the bill does not affect 
Secretarial Order 3324, issued by the Department of the 
Interior. (10 minutes)
    5. Hastings, Alcee (FL): Requires demonstration for 
proposed projects that domestic capacity to produce strategic 
and critical minerals is less that 80 percent of domestic 
requirements and requires publication of intent to transport or 
sell strategic and critical mineral intermediate and final 
products outside of the United States unless the domestic 
capacity exceeds 80 percent. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Lowenthal of California 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 5, strike lines 1 through 15 and insert the following:
          (1) Strategic and critical minerals.--The term 
        ``strategic and critical minerals''--
                  (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
                means--
                          (i) minerals and mineral groups 
                        identified as critical by the National 
                        Research Council in the report titled 
                        ``Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the 
                        U.S Economy'' and dated 2008; and
                          (ii) additional minerals identified 
                        by the Secretary of the Interior based 
                        on the National Research Council 
                        criteria in such report; and
                  (B) does not include sand, gravel, or clay.
  Page 5, line 25, after ``ties'' insert ``for strategic and 
critical minerals''.
  Page 6, line 3, after ``operation'' insert ``for strategic 
and critical mineral mines''.
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Dingell of Michigan or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Beginning at page 7, strike line 5 and all that follows 
through page 8, line 18, and insert the following:
  (b) Treatment of Permits Under NEPA.--Issuance of a mineral 
exploration or mine permit shall be treated as a major Federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment for purposes of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.).
  Beginning at page 9, strike line 19 and all that follows 
through page 12, line 21.
                              ----------                              


     3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cartwright of 
         Pennsylvania or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Beginning at page 14, line 1, strike title II.
                              ----------                              


4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Pearce of New Mexico or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Strike title III (page 15, beginning at line 15) and insert 
the following:

                  TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. SECRETARIAL ORDER NOT AFFECTED.

  This Act shall not apply to any mineral described in 
Secretarial Order 3324, issued by the Secretary of the Interior 
on December 3, 2012, in any area to which the Order applies.
                              ----------                              


5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Hastings of Florida or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following:

                   TITLE __--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. _01. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.

  This Act shall not apply with respect to a proposed strategic 
and critical minerals mining project unless the project 
proponent demonstrates that the combined capacity of existing 
mining operations in the United States producing the same 
mineral product that will be produced by the project, whether 
currently in operation or not, but not including mining 
operations for which a reclamation plan is being implemented or 
has been fully implemented, is less than 80 percent of the 
demand for that mineral product in the United States.

SEC. _02. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE REGARDING TRANSPORTATION AND SALE 
                    OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

  If any intermediate or final mineral product produced by a 
strategic and critical minerals mining project is to be 
transported or sold outside the United States, and the project 
proponent cannot demonstrate that the annual production of such 
product in the United States exceeds 80 percent of the demand 
for that product in the United States, the project proponent 
shall publish at least once prior notice of their intent to 
make such transport or sale in national newspapers or trade 
publications, by electronic means, or both, and on any Internet 
site that is maintained by the project proponent.

                                  [all]