[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4109 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4109
To require the Administrator of General Services to establish an agency
electronic recycling program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 30, 2020
Mr. Burr (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Manchin) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Administrator of General Services to establish an agency
electronic recycling program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``CRITICAL Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency recycling program.--The term ``agency recycling
program'' means the recycling program established in section
3(a).
(2) Battery.--The term ``battery''--
(A) means a battery or a rechargeable battery; and
(B) does not include a battery contained in a
medical device.
(3) Certified entity.--The term ``certified entity'' means
a refiner or recycler that has a certification under a standard
described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4).
(4) Certified recycling stream.--The term ``certified
recycling stream'' means a stream of recycling that is
certified under--
(A) the R2 Standard; or
(B) the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible
Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment.
(5) Certified recycling stream program.--The term
``certified recycling stream program'' means the program
established in section 4(a).
(6) Covered electronic.--The term ``covered electronic''
means--
(A) a consumer electronic device that--
(i) uses a battery or a related technology;
or
(ii) contains a critical mineral; or
(B) any other electronic device that the
Administrator, in coordination with the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency, determines to
be acceptable.
(7) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has
the meaning given the term in section 2 of Executive Order
13817 (30 U.S.C. 1601 note; relating to secure and reliable
supplies of critical minerals).
(8) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has
the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.
(9) Medical device.--The term ``medical device'' has the
meaning given the term ``device'' in section 201(h) of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(h)).
SEC. 3. AGENCY RECYCLING PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall
establish an electronic recycling program that services each Executive
agency.
(b) Objects Recycled.--The agency recycling program shall collect
covered electronics from the Executive agency that are--
(1) owned by the Executive agency;
(2) determined by the Executive agency to be--
(A) excess;
(B) not suitable for sale; and
(C) not appropriate for donation; and
(3) selected by the Executive agency for disposal.
(c) Data Security.--In administering the agency recycling program,
the Administrator of General Services shall develop procedures to
protect the data stored on the covered electronics of an Executive
agency collected under subsection (b).
SEC. 4. CERTIFIED RECYCLING STREAM PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, in consultation with the Administrator of
General Services and the Secretary of Energy, shall establish a
program to ensure that all covered electronics collected under
the agency recycling program are entered into a certified
recycling stream for dismantling and refining by certified
entities.
(2) Partnerships.--In carrying out the certified recycling
stream program, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall partner with certified entities to
improve recycling streams and refining processes for covered
electronics.
(b) Priority Products.--In carrying out the certified recycling
stream program, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency shall give priority to ensuring that covered electronics
containing critical minerals are entered into certified recycling
streams.
(c) Federal Recoupment of Costs.--In administering the certified
recycling stream program, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Administrator of General Services may recoup
the costs of collecting covered electronics--
(1) by charging fees to certified entities that seek to
access the electronics and base materials that are refined from
covered electronics for the purpose of reentering the extracted
critical minerals into the supply chain; and
(2) by selling the collected covered electronics to
certified entities to recycle and refine so that the recycled
materials may be reused.
(d) Retention of Refined Critical Materials in the United States.--
In carrying out the certified recycling stream program, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall ensure, to
the extent practicable, that refined critical minerals developed
through the certified recycling stream program are retained in the
United States for use by industry.
SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT ON CRITICAL MINERAL EXTRACTION.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of the Interior shall conduct, and submit to Congress a
report describing the results of, a study to evaluate--
(1) as of the date of the study, the quantity of critical
minerals that have been extracted from covered electronics
collected under the agency recycling program and entered into a
certified recycling stream under the certified recycling stream
program;
(2) the quantity of critical minerals that could be
extracted through a similar voluntary recycling program
established for the private sector; and
(3) the total quantity of recoverable critical minerals
from all certified recycling streams, as compared to the total
quantity of critical minerals necessary for manufacturing,
consumer products, and national defense in the United States.
SEC. 6. E-WASTE RECYCLING CHALLENGE PRIZE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) E-waste recycling system.--The term ``E-waste recycling
system'' means a system to collect covered electronic waste
that can be sorted, dismantled, and preprocessed for recycling.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
partnership of--
(A) 1 or more States, Indian tribes (as defined in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or units of
local government; and
(B) 1 or more businesses, institutions of higher
education, or nonprofit organizations.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) a State;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(D) Guam;
(E) American Samoa;
(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands; and
(G) the United States Virgin Islands.
(b) Authorization.--The Administrator shall award to eligible
entities prizes for the development of E-waste recycling systems, with
a goal of increasing the collection of recyclable covered electronics.
(c) Activities.--Activities that are eligible for a prize under
subsection (b) include--
(1) the development of best practices for E-waste recycling
systems;
(2) consumer awareness campaigns for E-waste recycling
systems;
(3) outreach to public-private partnerships relating to E-
waste recycling systems;
(4) carrying out E-waste recycling systems; and
(5) such other activities as the Administrator determines
to be appropriate.
(d) Applications.--An eligible entity that has carried out
activities described in subsection (c) and seeks to receive a prize
under subsection (b) shall submit to the Administrator at application
at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Administrator may require.
(e) Criteria.--In selecting recipients of prizes under subsection
(b), the Administrator may consider--
(1) the applicants with the highest volume of covered
electronic waste collected per capita in the municipal region
served by the applicable E-waste recycling system;
(2) the applicants with the lowest cost of collection per
pound of covered electronic waste collected;
(3) the applicants with the greatest number of jobs created
or economic development generated; and
(4) the applicants with the highest probability that the
applicable E-waste recycling system feeds into recycling by a
certified entity.
(f) Prize Amount.--The amount of a prize under subsection (b) shall
be not more than $100,000.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $5,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.
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