[Senate Report 118-93]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 196
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-93
======================================================================
INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS
TASK FORCE ACT
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 1871
TO CREATE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION BETWEEN
STATE, LOCAL, TRIBAL, AND TERRITORIAL JURISDICTIONS,
AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO COMBAT UNITED STATES
RELIANCE ON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND OTHER
COVERED COUNTRIES FOR CRITICAL MINERALS AND RARE EARTH
METALS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 5, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2023
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
ALEX PADILLA, California RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
Chelsea A. Davis, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 196
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-93
======================================================================
INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS TASK FORCE ACT
_______
September 5, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1871]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1871) to create
intergovernmental coordination between State, local, Tribal,
and territorial jurisdictions, and the Federal Government to
combat United States reliance on the People's Republic of China
and other covered countries for critical minerals and rare
earth metals, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment, in the
nature of a substitute, and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............5
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................6
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................7
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............8
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 1871, the Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force
Act, would create an intergovernmental taskforce to strengthen
domestic critical mineral supply chains and combat the United
States' reliance on the People's Republic of China and other
adversarial countries for critical minerals. The bill requires
the task force--comprised of representatives from more than 17
different federal agencies and components--to consult with
state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, along with
public and private sector stakeholders, in performing its
duties. Among its responsibilities, the task force would help
address homeland security risks related to the critical mineral
supply chain; work to create well-paying, safe, American jobs
to support supply chain growth in the United States; and
identify environmentally responsible opportunities to improve
domestic mining, processing, refinement, reuse, and recycling
of critical minerals. Additionally, the task force would
recommend strategies for strengthening international
partnerships in furtherance of global critical minerals supply
chain security. Two years after the bill's enactment, the
legislation requires the task force to report to Congress and
make public its findings, guidelines, and recommendations.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
Critical minerals play a major role in the production of
transportation, renewable energy infrastructure, military
defense systems, and other manufactured technologies crucial
for U.S. national and homeland security.\1\ The nation's
reliance on insecure and adversarial countries for these
minerals and their supply chains, particularly the People's
Republic of China, creates significant national security
risks.\2\ China is currently the leading nation for production
of more than half of the 50 critical minerals identified by the
U.S. Geological Survey in 2022. The United States is 100% net
import reliant on 12 critical minerals and 50% net import
reliant on an additional 31 critical mineral commodities.\3\
Additionally, China controls the supply chain for these
minerals and the products to which they contribute. For
example, China refines most of the world's lithium and cobalt,
makes most of the world's electric vehicle battery parts,
produces most of the world's lithium-ion batteries, and holds
more than two thirds of global lithium-ion recycling
capacity.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Government Accountability Office, Critical Minerals: Building on
Federal Efforts to Advance Recovery and Substitution Could Help Address
Supply Risks (GAO-GAO-22-104824) (June 2022).
\2\The White House, Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing
American Manufacturing, and Fostering broad-Based Growth: 100 Day
Reviews under Executive Order 14017 (June 2021); Zongyuan Zoe Liu, How
to Secure Critical Minerals for Clean Energy Without Alienating China,
Council on Foreign Relations (blog) (May 25, 2023) (https://
www.cfr.org/blog/how-secure-critical-minerals-clean-energy-without-
alienating-china).
\3\Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey,
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023 (Jan. 2023).
\4\Can the World Make an Electric Car Battery Without China?, The
New York Times (May 16, 2023) (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/
2023/05/16/business/china-ev-battery.html).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This bill builds on previous federal strategies developed
to address several challenges related to the current critical
minerals supply chain. In 2017, former President Donald Trump
issued Executive Order 13817 to establish a federal strategy to
ensure secure and reliable supplies of critical minerals.\5\
Since 2017, Presidents Trump and Biden issued Executive Orders
13953 and 14017 respectively, to help address concerns with the
U.S. critical mineral supply chain.\6\ Additionally, Congress
has passed legislation--such as the Energy Act of 2020 and the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act--to develop clean energy
infrastructure and increase critical mineral activities.\7\ In
response to these efforts, agencies, such as the Department of
Energy, have developed strategies to mitigate challenges
associated with the nation's critical mineral dependence.\8\ In
2022, the Department of Energy also announced a program
providing $39 million dollars in funding for new technologies
to grow a secure critical mineral supply chain and strengthen
national security.\9\ Despite this progress, domestic demand
for critical minerals is expected to increase by up to 600%
over the next several decades, and the supply chains for these
minerals will likely continue to generate greater risks to our
national security, economy, and environment.\10\ This
multidimensional problem requires a cohesive strategy to
facilitate coordination at every level of the U.S. government.
Combatting China's dominance in critical minerals will take an
all-of-government approach that unites federal agencies across
disciplines with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners
and all relevant stakeholders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\Exec. Order No. 13817, 82 Fed. Reg. 60835 (Dec. 26, 2017).
\6\Exec. Order No. 13953, 85 Fed. Reg. 62544 (Oct. 5, 2020); Exec.
Order No. 14017, 86 Fed. Reg. 11849 (Mar. 1, 2021).
\7\Bipartisan Policy Center, Expanding Domestic Critical Mineral
Supply Chains (Mar. 15, 2023) (https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/
expanding-us-critical-mineral-supply/#::text=The%20Ener
gy%20Act%20of%202020,of%20the%20Interior%20(DOI)).
\8\Department of Energy, Critical Minerals and Materials: U.S.
Department of Energy's Strategy to Support Domestic Critical Mineral
and Material Supply Chains (FY 2021-FY 2031) (Sept. 30, 2023).
\9\Department of Energy, DOE Announces $39 Million for Technology
to Grow the Domestic Critical Minerals Supply Chain and Strengthen
National Security (Oct. 27, 2022); See also, in 2021: Department of
Energy, DOE Awards $30M to Secure Domestic Supply Chain of Critical
Materials (Sept. 2, 2021).
\10\Id.; The Aspen Institute, Energy & Environment Program, A
Critical Minerals Policy for the United States: The Role of Congress in
Scaling Domestic Supply and De-Risking Supply Chains (June 2023)
(https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Critical-
Miner
als-Report.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The United States continues to face obstacles related to
building its domestic supply chain. In 2022, the Government
Accountability Office identified several key challenges related
to recovering (i.e., recycling and use of nontraditional
resources) and substituting (i.e., developing alternatives to)
critical minerals. These barriers included incomplete federal
data collection, limited domestic infrastructure, limited
scientific research and environmental concerns, and gaps in the
workforce.\11\ These issues pose challenges to supply chain
innovation and growth. For example, scientists and geologists
face future workforce gaps, with more than half of the current
domestic mining workforce expected to retire by 2029.
Additionally, increases in critical mineral production could
generate environmental risks--such as toxic waste and
biodiversity impacts--along with concerns for tribal
communities near critical minerals projects.\12\ With the help
of diverse stakeholder perspectives and engagement at every
level of government, the task force would aim to provide tools
to promote supply chain growth in a manner that protects the
environment, incorporates community input, and promotes a
strong domestic workforce.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\Government Accountability Office, supra note 1.
\12\The Aspen Institute, Energy & Environment Program, A Critical
Minerals Policy for the United States: The Role of Congress in Scaling
Domestic Supply and De-Risking Supply Chains (June 2023) (https://
www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Critical-Minerals-
Report
.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No country, including the United States, can onshore every
piece of the supply chain for every critical mineral.
International partnerships are key to meeting national critical
mineral demands.\13\ The United States has entered into many
strategic partnerships to secure clean, reliable supply chains.
For example, the United States helped launch the Partnership
for Global Infrastructure and Investment, signed the Mineral
Security Partnership, and joined the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue (QUAD).\14\ The Intergovernmental Critical Mineral
Task Force Act aims to improve U.S. partnerships by
establishing strategies to strengthen supply chain security
with international allies and partners. Ultimately, the task
force would help achieve the goals of enhancing transparency in
the nation's supply chains; strengthening the domestic
workforce with safe and well-paying American jobs; ensuring
regulations related to the supply chain are efficient and
environmentally responsible, while considering input from
tribal and local communities; and improving U.S. international
partnerships regarding critical minerals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\The White House, Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing
American Manufacturing, and Fostering broad-Based Growth: 100 Day
Reviews under Executive Order 14017 (June 2021); Department of the
Interior, United States Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries
2023 (Jan. 2023).
\14\Zongyuan Zoe Liu, How to Secure Critical Minerals for Clean
Energy Without Alienating China, Council on Foreign Relations (blog)
(May 25, 2023) (https://www.cfr.org/blog/how-secure-critical-minerals-
clean-energy-without-alienating-china); Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, Friendshoring Critical Minerals: What Could the
U.S. and Its Partners Produce? (May 3, 2023) (https://
carnegieendowment.org/2023/05/03/friendshoring-critical-minerals-what-
could-u.s.-and-its-partners-produce-pub-89659).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 1871, the
Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act, on June 8,
2023, with original cosponsors Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and
Senator James Lankford (R-OK). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 1871 at a business meeting on
June 14, 2023. At the business meeting, Senators Peters,
Romney, and Lankford offered a substitute amendment to the bill
as well as a modification to the substitute amendment. Senator
Rosen also offered an amendment to the bill as well as a
modification to the amendment. The Peters-Romney-Lankford
substitute amendment, as modified, made organizational changes
to the bill; added several agencies to the task force's
composition; clarified the task force's purposes and required
topics to address in its duties and report recommendations;
added examples of countries with whom the United States should
strengthen its strategic partnerships; and made changes to the
task force and GAO reporting requirements. The Rosen amendment
added the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation to the list of committees responsible for
reviewing the task force's work and clarified that the task
force should consult with individuals from states that are
involved in the critical mineral supply chain. The Committee
adopted the modification to the Peters-Romney-Lankford
substitute amendment by unanimous consent, and adopted the
substitute amendment by unanimous consent as modified, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Paul,
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present. The Committee
adopted the modification to the Rosen amendment by voice vote,
and adopted the amendment by voice vote as modified, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Paul,
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
The bill, as amended by the Peters-Romney-Lankford
substitute amendment as modified and Rosen amendment as
modified, was ordered to be reported favorably by roll call
vote of 10 yeas to 1 nay, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema,
Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley
voting in the affirmative, and with Senator Paul voting in the
negative. Senators Carper, Blumenthal, Johnson, and Marshall
voted yea by proxy, for the record only.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act.''
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines the terms ``appropriate committees of
Congress,'' ``covered country,'' ``critical mineral,''
``Director,'' and ``task force.''
Section 3. Findings
This section explains the importance, national security
risks, and vulnerabilities associated with the global and
domestic critical mineral supply chains. Specifically, this
section outlines the scope of the United States' reliance on
the People's Republic of China for critical minerals and
critical mineral supply chains.
Section 4. Intergovernmental critical minerals task force
Subsection (a) describes the purposes of the task force.
The task force shall (1) assess the critical mineral reliance
of the United States on the People's Republic of China and
other covered countries, and the associated homeland and
national security risks at each level of government; (2)
recommend ways to onshore and improve the domestic supply chain
of critical minerals; and (3) reduce U.S. reliance on covered
countries for critical minerals and supply chains.
Subsection (b) requires the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to create the task force, within 90
days of this bill's enactment.
Subsection (c) outlines the composition of the task force.
The OMB Director may serve as chair of the task force or
designate a chair. The Director must appoint at least 17
representatives with critical mineral supply chain expertise
from specified agencies. The task force must consult with
state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, along with
specific public and private sector stakeholders, such as
academic researchers, mining industry stakeholders, and labor
representatives. Consultees must include individuals from
states whose communities are involved in the critical mineral
supply chain. After enactment, the task force will meet at
least once every 90 days until it publishes the report
described in subsection (d)(2).
Subsection (d)(1) describes the duties of the task force.
The task force is required to facilitate coordination and
cooperation at each level of government to enhance data sharing
and transparency in critical mineral supply chains. The task
force must make recommendations, considering the economic costs
of those recommendations and focusing on supply chains posing
the greatest national security risks. These recommendations
must address the following topics: research and development
into emerging supply chain technologies; reducing U.S. reliance
on foreign adversaries for critical minerals and expanding
domestic critical mineral industries and supply chains;
modifying regulations to accelerate environmentally responsible
critical mineral production; strengthening the workforce
surrounding critical minerals with well-paying, safe, U.S.
jobs; mitigating homeland and national security risks when the
United States relies on foreign adversaries for critical
minerals; and strengthening international partnerships with
U.S. partners and allies to enhance critical minerals supply
chain security.
Subsection (d)(2) requires the task force to report to
Congress and make public its findings, guidelines, and
recommendations no later than two years after the bill's
enactment. The report must be in unclassified form, but may
contain a classified annex. The Director must redact
information from the public report that poses a risk to
homeland and national security.
Subsection (e) requires the task force to terminate 90 days
after the date on which the task force completes its duties
under subsection (d)(2).
Subsection (f) requires the Comptroller General to submit a
report to Congress after 18 months examining the regulatory
landscape related to the domestic supply chain for critical
minerals.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 1871 would establish a task force to coordinate federal,
state, and private-sector efforts to increase domestic
production of critical minerals, such as aluminum, titanium,
and rare earth elements. The task force would identify new
methods of mining, processing, and recycling critical minerals
to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign adversaries. Under the bill,
the task force would submit a report to the Congress on its
findings within two years of enactment and terminate within 90
days thereafter. The bill also would require the Government
Accountability Office to report on the effects of federal and
state regulations on the domestic supply of critical minerals.
The task force would consist of representatives from
federal agencies and would consult with nonfederal entities.
Using information about the cost of similar efforts, CBO
estimates that implementing S. 1871 would cost $2 million over
the 2023-2028 period for staff salaries, travel, and other
administrative expenses to operate the task force. In addition,
CBO estimates that satisfying the reporting requirements of S.
1871 would cost less than $500,000. Such spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 800 (general government).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 1871
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2023-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorization.............................. 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
Estimated Outlays.................................... 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aldo Prosperi.
The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel, Director,
Congressional Budget Office.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.
[all]