[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9898 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9898
To amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to secure midstream
processing of critical materials, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2024
Mr. Guthrie (for himself, Mr. Fulcher, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr.
Bucshon, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Moore of
Utah, Mr. Bacon, and Mrs. Miller-Meeks) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to secure midstream
processing of critical materials, 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 ``Securing America's Midstream
Critical Materials Processing of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) midstream separation, processing, refining, alloying,
concentration, smelting, and beneficiation of critical
materials represent a linchpin in efforts to secure domestic
supply chains and reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries;
(2) unreasonable environmental regulations covering
midstream critical materials processors has deterred necessary
investment and driven industry towards foreign countries;
(3) reshoring domestic industries and their supply chains
improves economic prosperity for American communities, creates
stable employment opportunities, and protects national security
interests;
(4) our next generation economy and domestic manufacturing
industry will significantly increase demand for critical
material inputs;
(5) the lack of sufficient domestic midstream critical
material processing capacity presents a vulnerability to our
economic and national security;
(6) China and other geopolitical adversaries of the United
States have dominated critical material processing markets,
which represents a threat to America's next generation economy;
(7) China and other geopolitical adversaries of the United
States purposefully exploit critical material processing
markets through unfair trade practices, such as dumping and
price manipulation, in an attempt to maintain their control and
undermine competing investment opportunities;
(8) the United States needs to expand its technical
workforce expertise and experience in critical material
processing and address workforce challenges to bolster domestic
opportunities supported by a domestic supply chain for critical
materials;
(9) foreign investment from allied nations and Free Trade
Agreement countries presents an opportunity to reshore domestic
midstream critical material processing capacity;
(10) the challenges of navigating burdensome permitting
processes act as a hindrance to further investment in midstream
critical material processing capacity;
(11) midstream critical material processing facilities
require access to reliable and affordable electricity and will
require increased generation and transmission infrastructure to
meet projected future demands; and
(12) the United States retains some of the highest
environmental and labor standards compared to adversarial
nations that dominate the midstream critical material
processing industry, such as China.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL ROADMAP ON DOMESTIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR MIDSTREAM
CRITICAL MATERIAL PROCESSING.
(a) In General.--In carrying out the requirements of the Department
of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), the Secretary of
Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the heads of
other appropriate Federal agencies, representatives of the critical
material processing industry, and members of academia covering critical
materials processing industries, shall--
(1) analyze and report to Congress regarding the current
state of midstream processing of critical materials; and
(2) identify those places where the United States-based
supply chain for critical materials is insufficient to allow
for the appropriate and necessary development of United States-
midstream processing of critical materials, including
opportunities for foreign direct investment from allied nations
and Free Trade Agreement countries.
(b) Membership.--The Secretary of Energy shall convene an
interagency task force comprised of--
(1) the Secretary of Commerce;
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(3) the Secretary of Defense;
(4) the Secretary of State;
(5) the Secretary of the Interior; and
(6) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency.
(c) Report Timing.--Not later than 1 year after the enactment of
this Act, the task force shall issue the report required under
subsection (a).
(d) Report Contents.--The report required under subsection (a)
shall include--
(1) whether there is an adequate supply of critical
materials to meet current and projected domestic needs that be
processed in the United States;
(2) the status of global midstream critical materials
processing industry;
(3) the status of domestic midstream critical materials
processing industry, including its ability to handle the supply
described in paragraph (1);
(4) an analysis of how and why the United States domestic
critical materials processing industry began and continues to
outsource operations to other countries;
(5) a review of the existing regulatory and permitting
apparatus covering midstream critical materials processing
facilities, including requirements under the Clean Air Act (42
U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Liability, and Compensation Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et
seq.), and the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et
seq.), or other laws, and how regulatory compliance under these
requirements influence potential investments into new
facilities;
(6) the economic impact of critical materials processing to
the overall United States economy and its welfare;
(7) barriers to investment into domestic critical materials
processing, including--
(A) the workforce and educational needs of
expanding critical materials processing;
(B) infrastructure requirements to build out
critical materials processing; and
(C) permitting inefficiencies for domestic
midstream critical materials processing, including
compliance with the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et
seq.), the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Liability, and Compensation Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601
et seq.), and the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.
6901 et seq.) and other relevant Federal laws;
(8) the cost-effectiveness, growth potential, and viability
of secondary or alternative critical materials processing to
help meet expected domestic demand for processed critical
materials, including reprocessing or recycling of--
(A) coal or coal waste;
(B) mine tailings;
(C) post-consumer electronic waste devices;
(D) smelter and refinery slags and residuals; and
(E) materials or waste recovered from sites
designated as Superfunds pursuant to the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);
(9) a review of the existing efforts by the Department of
Energy's Office of Manufacturing and Energy, or other efforts
within the membership of the interagency task force convened
under subsection (b), to advancing secondary or alternative
critical materials processing;
(10) how the expected trend in the demand for processed
critical materials is affected by the role that midstream
critical material processing in the United States plays in
aiding domestic manufacturing;
(11) barriers to foreign direct investment from allied
nations and Free Trade Agreement countries into the United
States for critical material processing, including workforce
challenges, infrastructure needs, permitting timeframes, and
pricing transparency risks;
(12) an identification and measure of the control the
Peoples' Republic of China and the Russian Federation have of
processed critical materials for countries that are parties
with the United States in a free trade agreement;
(13) the national security implications posed to the United
States by continued control of midstream critical material
processing industry by the Peoples' Republic of China or other
geopolitical adversaries; and
(14) any anti-competitive practices by the Peoples'
Republic of China and any other geopolitical adversaries of the
United States, and other non-market state owned enterprises to
control the midstream critical materials processing industry
by--
(A) depressing domestic prices through dumping
refined critical materials onto United States markets;
(B) manipulating critical material prices to
discourage United States investment and undermine long-
term stability for United States markets;
(C) purposefully disrupting supply chains for
United States industries;
(D) manipulation of greenfield investment into Free
Trade Agreement countries; and
(E) establishment of commodity-specific trading
platforms to further entrench the Peoples' Republic of
China's market dominance.
(e) Advisory Panel.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish an
advisory panel to provide input, technical analysis, and
feedback for and on the report required under subsection (a).
(2) Membership.--The advisory panel shall include--
(A) 5 representatives from the domestic critical
materials processing industry, including--
(i) a diversity of processed critical
materials; and
(ii) participants in critical material re-
processing or recycling; and
(B) 5 individuals from academia that have a
diversity of perspectives and relevant expertise in--
(i) in domestic critical materials
processing industries; and
(ii) research into national security
implications of the impact of the Peoples'
Republic of China and other foreign
adversaries' engaging in anti-competitive
behaviors in the critical materials processing
industry.
(3) Meetings.--The advisory panel shall meet not less than
2 times before the task force issues the report required under
subsection (a).
SEC. 4. GAO REPORT.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
Congress a report regarding how current Federal policies and permitting
processes inhibit investment in midstream critical materials
processing, including--
(1) how Public Law 117-169 (commonly known as the
``Inflation Reduction Act'') may have affected greenfield
foreign-directed investments in free trade agreement countries
from the Peoples' Republic of China;
(2) how regulations issued pursuant to the Clean Air Act
(42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) and the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) or other relevant laws inhibit new
investments into midstream critical materials processing;
(3) the role of regulation and permitting, including that
of litigation, in inhibiting and discouraging investment;
(4) a review of--
(A) the effectiveness of Federal policies in
encouraging the utilization of secondary or alternative
critical materials sources, including material re-use,
recycling, and materials or waste recovered from sites
identified on the National Priorities List as subject
to the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601
et seq.); and
(B) whether Federal investments allow for
commercialization by private industry;
(5) a review of the policies of comparable allied nations
that have midstream critical materials processing industries to
site, permit, and regulate facilities;
(6) a review of the benefits to producers and consumers of
materials used in United States manufacturing and finished
goods, including--
(A) minerals included on the list published by the
United States Geological Survey pursuant to section
7002(c) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c));
(B) materials included on the list of critical
materials published by the Department of Energy
pursuant to section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020
(30 U.S.C. 1606(a)); and
(C) materials of interest designated as such by the
Defense Logistics Agency; and
(7) a review of the role of all Federal agencies engaged in
midstream critical materials processing and opportunities to
improve interagency collaboration and create synergies to
leverage individual expertise.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Advisory panel.--The term ``advisory panel'' means the
advisory panel established under section 3(e).
(2) Critical material.--The term ``critical material'' has
the meaning given the term in section 7002(a)(2) of the Energy
Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)(2)).
(3) Critical material processing.--The term ``critical
material processing'' means any process that transforms,
refines, separates, alloys, concentrates, smelts, or
beneficiates raw extracted critical materials into value added
inputs.
(4) Task force.--The term ``task force'' means the
interagency task force convened under section 3(b).
<all>