S.Amdt. 1797

SA 1797. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. Manchin, Ms. Murkowski,
and Ms. Hassan) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to
establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the
National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security,
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike subsections (c) and (d) of section 2214 (relating
to critical minerals mining research) of division B and
insert the following:
(c) Grant Program for Processing of Critical Minerals and
Development of Critical Minerals and Metals.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy, in
consultation with the Director, the Secretary of the
Interior, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall establish a
grant program to finance pilot projects for--
(A) the processing of critical minerals in the United
States; or
(B) the development of critical minerals and metals in the
United States.
(2) Limitation on grant awards.--A grant awarded under
paragraph (1) may not exceed $10,000,000.
(3) Economic viability.--In awarding grants under paragraph
(1), the Secretary of Energy shall give priority to projects
that the Secretary of Energy determines are likely to be
economically viable over the long term.
(4) Secondary recovery.--In awarding grants under paragraph
(1), the Secretary of Energy shall seek to award not less
than 30 percent of the total amount of grants awarded during
the fiscal year for projects relating to secondary recovery
of critical minerals and metals.
(5) Domestic priority.--In awarding grants for the
development of critical minerals and metals under paragraph
(1)(B), the Secretary of Energy shall prioritize pilot
projects that will process the critical minerals and metals
domestically.
(6) Prohibition on processing by foreign entity of
concern.--In awarding grants under paragraph (1), the
Secretary of Energy shall ensure that pilot projects do not
export for processing any critical minerals and metals to a
foreign entity of concern (as defined in section 2307(a)).
(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy $100,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2024 to carry out the
grant program established under paragraph (1).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has
the meaning given the term in section 7002(a) of the Energy
Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
(2) Critical mineral and metal.--The term ``critical
mineral and metal'' includes any host mineral of a critical
mineral.
(3) Secondary recovery.--The term ``secondary recovery''
means the recovery of critical minerals and metals from
discarded end-use products or from waste products produced
during the metal refining and manufacturing process,
including from mine waste piles, acid mine drainage sludge,
or byproducts produced through legacy mining and metallurgy
activities.
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