[Pages H7060-H7063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

RARE EARTHS AND CRITICAL MATERIALS REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2010

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 6160) to develop a rare earth materials program, to
amend the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and
Development Act of 1980, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 6160

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Rare
Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I--RARE EARTH MATERIALS

Sec. 101. Rare earth materials program.
Sec. 102. Rare earth materials loan guarantee program.

TITLE II--NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS POLICY, RESEARCH, AND
DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 201. Amendments to National Materials and Minerals Policy,
Research and Development Act of 1980.
Sec. 202. Repeal.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate Congressional committees'' means the Committee
on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(3) Rare earth materials.--The term ``rare earth
materials'' means any of the following chemical elements in
any of their physical forms or chemical combinations:
(A) Scandium.
(B) Yttrium.
(C) Lanthanum.
(D) Cerium.
(E) Praseodymium.
(F) Neodymium.
(G) Promethium.
(H) Samarium.
(I) Europium.
(J) Gadolinium.
(K) Terbium.
(L) Dysprosium.
(M) Holmium.
(N) Erbium.
(O) Thulium.
(P) Ytterbium.
(Q) Lutetium.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.

TITLE I--RARE EARTH MATERIALS

SEC. 101. RARE EARTH MATERIALS PROGRAM.

(a) Establishment of Program.--
(1) In general.--There is established in the Department a
program of research, development, demonstration, and
commercial application to assure the long-term, secure, and
sustainable supply of rare earth materials sufficient to
satisfy the national security, economic well-being, and
industrial production needs of the United States.
(2) Program activities.--The program shall support
activities to--

[[Page H7061]]

(A) better characterize and quantify virgin stocks of rare
earth materials using theoretical geochemical research;
(B) explore, discover, and recover rare earth materials
using advanced science and technology;
(C) improve methods for the extraction, processing, use,
recovery, and recycling of rare earth materials;
(D) improve the understanding of the performance,
processing, and adaptability in engineering designs of rare
earth materials;
(E) identify and test alternative materials that can be
substituted for rare earth materials in particular
applications;
(F) engineer and test applications that--
(i) use recycled rare earth materials;
(ii) use alternative materials; or
(iii) seek to minimize rare earth materials content;
(G) collect, catalogue, archive, and disseminate
information on rare earth materials, including scientific and
technical data generated by the research and development
activities supported under this section, and assist
scientists and engineers in making the fullest possible use
of the data holdings; and
(H) facilitate information sharing and collaboration among
program participants and stakeholders.
(3) Improved processes and technologies.--To the maximum
extent practicable, the Secretary shall support new or
significantly improved processes and technologies as compared
to those currently in use in the rare earth materials
industry.
(4) Expanding participation.--The Secretary shall
encourage--
(A) multidisciplinary collaborations among program
participants; and
(B) extensive opportunities for students at institutions of
higher education, including institutions listed under section
371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1067q(a)).
(5) Consistency.--The program shall be consistent with the
policies and programs in the National Materials and Minerals
Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.).
(6) International collaboration.--In carrying out the
program, the Secretary may collaborate, to the extent
practicable, on activities of mutual interest with the
relevant agencies of foreign countries with interests
relating to rare earth materials.
(b) Plan.--
(1) In general.--Within 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the
Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate
Congressional committees a plan to carry out the program
established under subsection (a).
(2) Specific requirements.--The plan shall include a
description of--
(A) the research and development activities to be carried
out by the program during the subsequent 2 years;
(B) the expected contributions of the program to the
creation of innovative methods and technologies for the
efficient and sustainable provision of rare earth materials
to the domestic economy;
(C) the criteria to be used to evaluate applications for
loan guarantees under section 1706 of the Energy Policy Act
of 2005;
(D) any projects receiving loan guarantee support under
such section and the status of such projects;
(E) how the program is promoting the broadest possible
participation by academic, industrial, and other
contributors; and
(F) actions taken or proposed that reflect recommendations
from the assessment conducted under subsection (c) or the
Secretary's rationale for not taking action pursuant to any
recommendation from such assessment for plans submitted
following the completion of the assessment under such
subsection.
(3) Consultation.--In preparing each plan under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall consult with appropriate
representatives of industry, institutions of higher
education, Department of Energy national laboratories,
professional and technical societies, and other entities, as
determined by the Secretary.
(c) Assessment.--
(1) In general.--After the program has been in operation
for 4 years, the Secretary shall offer to enter into a
contract with the National Academy of Sciences under which
the National Academy shall conduct an assessment of the
program under subsection (a).
(2) Inclusions.--The assessment shall include the
recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences that the
program should be--
(A) continued, accompanied by a description of any
improvements needed in the program; or
(B) terminated, accompanied by a description of the lessons
learned from the execution of the program.
(3) Availability.--The assessment shall be made available
to Congress and the public upon completion.

SEC. 102. RARE EARTH MATERIALS LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

(a) Amendment.--Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:

``SEC. 1706. TEMPORARY PROGRAM FOR RARE EARTH MATERIALS
REVITALIZATION.

``(a) In General.--As part of the program established in
section 101 of the Rare Earths and Critical Materials
Revitalization Act of 2010, the Secretary is authorized, only
to the extent provided in advance in a subsequent
appropriations act, to make guarantees under this title for
the commercial application of new or significantly improved
technologies (compared to technologies currently in use in
the United States at the time the guarantee is issued) for
the following categories of projects:
``(1) The separation and recovery of rare earth materials
from ores or other sources.
``(2) The preparation of rare earth materials in oxide,
metal, alloy, or other forms needed for national security,
economic well-being, or industrial production purposes.
``(3) The application of rare earth materials in the
production of improved--
``(A) magnets;
``(B) batteries;
``(C) refrigeration systems;
``(D) optical systems;
``(E) electronics; and
``(F) catalysis.
``(4) The application of rare earth materials in other
uses, as determined by the Secretary.
``(b) Timeliness.--The Secretary shall seek to minimize
delay in approving loan guarantee applications, consistent
with appropriate protection of taxpayer interests.
``(c) Cooperation.--To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretary shall cooperate with appropriate private sector
participants to achieve a complete rare earth materials
production capability in the United States within 5 years
after the date of enactment of the Rare Earths and Critical
Materials Revitalization Act of 2010.
``(d) Domestic Supply Chain.--In support of the objective
in subsection (c) to achieve a rare earth materials
production capability in the United States that includes the
complete value chain described in paragraphs (1) through (4)
of subsection (a), the Secretary may not award a guarantee
for a project unless the project's proponent provides to the
Secretary an assurance that the loan or guarantee shall be
used to support the separation, recovery, preparation, or
manufacturing of rare earth materials in the United States
for customers within the United States unless insufficient
domestic demand for such materials results in excess
capacity.
``(e) Sunset.--The authority to enter into guarantees under
this section shall expire on September 30, 2015.''.
(b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by inserting after
the item relating to section 1705 the following new item:

``Sec. 1706. Temporary program for rare earth materials
revitalization.''.

TITLE II--NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS POLICY, RESEARCH, AND
DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL MATERIALS AND MINERALS
POLICY, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1980.

(a) Program Plan.--Section 5 of the National Materials and
Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30
U.S.C. 1604) is amended--
(1) by striking ``date of enactment of this Act'' each
place it appears and inserting ``date of enactment of the
Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of
2010'';
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ``Federal Coordinating
Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology'' and
inserting ``National Science and Technology Council,'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``the Federal Emergency'' and all that
follows through ``Agency, and'';
(B) by striking ``appropriate shall'' and inserting
``appropriate, shall'';
(C) by striking paragraph (1);
(D) in paragraph (2), by striking ``in the case'' and all
that follows through ``subsection,''
(E) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (1); and
(F) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
``(2) assess the adequacy, accessibility, and stability of
the supply of materials necessary to maintain national
security, economic well-being, and industrial production.'';
(4) by striking subsections (d) and (e); and
(5) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (d).
(b) Policy.--Section 3 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1602) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``The Congress declares that it'' and
inserting ``It''; and
(2) by striking ``The Congress further declares that
implementation'' and inserting ``Implementation''.
(c) Implementation.--Section 4 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1603)
is amended--
(1) by striking ``For the purpose'' and all that follows
through ``declares that the'' and inserting ``The''; and
(2) by striking ``departments and agencies,'' and inserting
``departments and agencies to implement the policies set
forth in section 3''.

SEC. 202. REPEAL.

Title II of Public Law 98-373 (30 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; 98
Stat. 1248), also known as the National Critical Materials
Act of 1984, is repealed.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.

[[Page H7062]]

General Leave

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 6160, the bill now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I rise in strong support today of H.R. 6160, the Rare Earths and
Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010. This bill was introduced
by the gentlelady from Pennsylvania (Mrs. Dahlkemper) and cosponsored
by Mr. Jerry Lewis, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Carnahan, myself, and a number of
other Members who all recognize that we must take steps to recapture
our technological lead in a wide range of industries critical to our
economic health, our national defense, and a clean and secure energy
future.
For the last week you couldn't open a newspaper or watch TV without
seeing a story warning us about the danger of our reliance on China for
a little-known but critical class of raw materials called ``rare
earths.'' Rare earths are an essential component of technologies in a
wide array of emerging and established industries. And, for everything
from oil refining to hybrid cars, wind turbines to weapon systems,
computer monitors to disk drives, the future demand for rare earths is
only expected to grow. However, despite the U.S. at one time being the
leader in this field, China now controls 97 percent of the global
market. Making matters more urgent, China has begun limiting production
and export of rare earths. This is clearly an untenable position for
the U.S.
This is not the first time the Congress has been concerned with the
competitive implications of materials such as rare earths. In 1980--30
years ago--we established a national minerals and materials policy. One
core element in that legislation was a call to support ``a vigorous,
comprehensive, and coordinated program of materials research and
development.'' Unfortunately, over successive administrations the
effort to sustain the program eroded. Now it is time to revive a
coordinated effort to level the global playing field in rare earths.
Mrs. Dahlkemper's bill calls for increased research and development to
help address the Nation's rare earths shortage and reinvigorates the
national policy for critical materials.
Furthermore, the bill does not start a big new government program.
All activities authorized in this Act should take place within existing
programs at the Department of Energy, the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and other relevant agencies. And the bill does not
authorize any new appropriations.
I call on my colleagues to support H.R. 6160, and I look forward to
its passage.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The legislation before us today, H.R. 6160, the Rare Earths and
Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010, deals with a very
important matter of potential concern to national security and to the
economy. Rare earths are used in many different high-tech applications,
including certain military and weapons systems, and China controls the
bulk of world supply and recently announced its intention to reduce
exports, triggering concerns that the U.S. could face a supply gap.
This is clearly an important issue that warrants our attention.
The obvious question we face now is how best to address this concern.
H.R. 6160 intends to do so through establishment of a rare earths
materials research and development program and authorization of loan
guarantees to support rare earth minerals mining, processing, and
production activities. Notwithstanding the clear and significant
potential for a rare earth supply shortage, during the committee markup
of this bill Republicans questioned whether the activities called for
in H.R. 6160 provide the appropriate policy response to this issue. I
will summarize these concerns as they were noted in the additional GOP
views included in the report on the bill.
To the extent that a rare earth supply gap may present national
security concerns, such concerns should probably be addressed through
the Department of Defense and the House and Senate Armed Services
Committees.
With respect to commercial supply needs, taxpayer subsidies in the
form of loan guarantees should be restricted to those areas not
undertaken by the private sector. This principle is particularly
important in the case of rare earths due to the aggressive private
pursuit of rare earth mining opportunities in response to recent price
increases. Unfortunately, an amendment to address this concern was
defeated in committee.
I am pleased, however, that several other Republican amendments to
improve H.R. 6160 were approved with bipartisan support, specifically
amendments to, one, eliminate funding authorizations for R&D
activities; two, elimination of a rare earth ``R&D Information
Center''; three, limit loan guarantee support for the exportation of
unprocessed rare earth materials necessary to meet domestic demand;
and, four, reduce the length of authorization for rare earth loan
guarantees from 8 years to 5 years.
Further, modified language addressing additional Republican concerns
related to the international collaboration was worked out following the
markup, and I thank Chairman Gordon for working with our side of the
aisle to improve this provision.

{time} 1650

Overall, despite the many remaining questions and concerns regarding
rare earths in this legislation, I recognize the importance of ensuring
a stable supply of rare earth materials and the potential for a near-
term supply shortage, and I remain committed to working on this issue
and on this bill as it moves through the legislative process.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield such time as she may consume to the
lead sponsor of this good bill, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Mrs.
Dahlkemper).
Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the leadership of the
House and, particularly, Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall for
allowing this bill to come forward. I think it is a very important
piece of legislation for, certainly, the national defense and the
economy of our country.
I ask: What would happen to our national defense if we could no
longer build a jet engine, vehicle batteries or advanced targeting
systems? What are the chances that our country would become energy
independent if we could not produce hybrid cars, wind turbines or other
alternative energy products? What would happen to our economy if the
technologies we depend on to make business work were no longer
available?
These are questions we would have to answer if China cut off our
supply of rare earth materials--vital components to nearly every piece
of advanced technology we use in our national defense and throughout
business and industry.
For the past decade, the United States has been almost entirely
dependent on China for its supply of rare earth materials despite the
fact that we have an abundant reserve of these materials within our own
borders. China currently accounts for as much as 90 percent of the
world's available supply of rare earth materials, but they are reducing
the amount of these materials going into the global market. Just this
summer, China announced it would cut its rare earth exports for the
second half of 2010 by 72 percent.
The bottom line is this: China is cornering the market on rare earth
materials, and we, the United States, are falling behind. That is why
we need to act now to begin the process of creating our own domestic
supply of rare earth materials so the United States is never dependent
on China or on any other country for crucial components for our
national security.
My bill, H.R. 6160, the Rare Earths and Critical Materials
Revitalization Act, is a bipartisan plan to jump-start U.S. research
and development in rare earth materials to improve our ability to find,
extract, process, and use rare earths to improve products. We want to
ultimately create a robust domestic supply of rare earths.
My legislation will foster a strong rare earths industry here in the
United

[[Page H7063]]

States. The scope of this bill spans the full supply chain from
exploration to mining to manufacturing. It will reduce risks in
financing new rare earth production facilities by guaranteeing loans to
companies with new processing and refining technologies. My bill will
also help create a U.S. minerals and materials policy so we are never
without a plan of action if our supply of rare earths falls short.
China has stated clearly that foreign firms that move their
manufacturing capacities onto Chinese soil will have no trouble
procuring rare earth materials for their needs. That's just another way
that American manufacturing jobs are being lured overseas. That has to
stop. We need to make things right here in our country and to give
those great manufacturing jobs to American men and women.
Madam Speaker, this bill cannot wait. Just last week, China
reportedly cut off Japan's supply of rare earths in the wake of a
territory conflict. This is a clear warning sign, and we would be
foolish to ignore it. If China is willing to use its control of rare
earths as leverage over other countries, we need to counter that
advantage by jump-starting our domestic market of rare earths now. The
GAO reports that it may take up to 15 years to rebuild the United
States' rare earth supply chain. Delaying the seed money to begin this
process only prolongs our dependency on China.
I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan plan to promote U.S.
global competitiveness and to ensure our national defense technology is
made in America.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Bilbray).
Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I appreciate this bill on two points. I
appreciate the fact that the chairman of the Science and Technology
Committee has been willing to bring forth this bill, which is very
critical at a very critical time. I also want to thank the gentlewoman
from Pennsylvania (Mrs. Dahlkemper) for raising this issue.
From the Science and Technology Committee's point of view, this is an
appropriate action to take. Sadly, Madam Speaker, we should have
sitting on the podium next to our chairman the chairman of the Natural
Resources Committee, because I think all of us will agree that all of
the funding and all of the studies do not accomplish anything if we do
not have access to the material to make it reality. One of the critical
things we need to do is to bridge the gap between what we know we need
to do and what we allow to be done.
One of the sad things right now is the fact that we keep talking
about great breakthroughs. We have got to recognize that all of us are
so excited about high-tech electrification of transportation systems,
about the efficiency and energy saved there and about the reduction in
the carbon footprint. If we want to drive our Priuses, then we have to
be brave enough not only to support this bill but to tell our
colleagues that we have to open up the public lands to allow the mining
to be done so that we will have access to create these miracles. Too
often we are willing to talk about spending money to do the kinds of
things that need to be done, but we are not willing to say we need to
reform our Federal regulations and our processes to make those things
possible.
One hears all the time that what America needs for energy
independence is a new Manhattan Project. Well, ladies and gentlemen, as
somebody who has worked on environmental issues for over 30 years, the
Manhattan Project would be illegal to do today. Federal regulation
would not allow a Manhattan Project. As the committee that works on
science, we need to understand that we can only do so much. The
jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Committee needs to be partners in
this effort. We need to tear down the barriers of government regulation
which do not allow access to those important components that are public
property and public resources. The American people own these resources,
and they should be able to have access to them.
I am very sensitive to the environmental impact of exploiting
resources in an inappropriate way. Yet, as a former member of the Air
Resources Board, I am very, very aware of the great environmental
threat if we do not utilize our own native resources to address these
issues.
So I want to thank the chairman. This is probably one of his last
bills to be before this committee. It is a great, great bill at a
critical time. I hope the committees of jurisdiction, such as the
Natural Resources Committee, will be as strong and as brave to bring
these items forward so the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania's bill can not
only see the light of day here in this body but actually can see the
implementation of one of the most important things that is facing us as
an economy and as a free people, which is just making sure that we have
the access to those items that make these miracles possible.
Thank you very much for this bill, and I support it.
Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 6160, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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