S.Amdt. 1811

SA 1811. Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) 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 section 2214 and insert the following:

SEC. 2214. CRITICAL MINERALS MINING, RECYCLING, AND
ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH.

(a) Critical Minerals Mining, Recycling, and Alternative
Technologies Research and Development at the Foundation.--
(1) In general.--In order to support supply chain
resiliency and reduce the environmental impacts of critical
minerals mining, the Director shall issue awards, on a
competitive basis, to institutions of higher education,
nonprofit organizations, or National Laboratories (or
consortia of such institutions or organizations, including
consortia that collaborate with private industry) to support
basic research that will accelerate innovation to advance
critical minerals mining, recycling, and reclamation
strategies and technologies for the purpose of making better
use of domestic resources, finding alternative technologies,
and eliminating national reliance on minerals and mineral
materials that are subject to supply disruptions.
(2) Use of funds.--Activities funded by an award under this
section may include--
(A) advancing mining research and development activities to
develop new mapping and mining technologies and techniques,
including advanced critical mineral extraction and
production, to improve existing or to develop new supply
chains of critical minerals, and to yield more efficient,
economical, and environmentally benign mining practices;
(B) advancing critical mineral processing research
activities to improve separation, alloying, manufacturing, or
recycling techniques and technologies that can decrease the
energy intensity, waste, potential environmental impact, and
costs of those activities;
(C) advancing research and development of critical minerals
mining and recycling technologies that take into account the
potential end-uses and disposal of critical minerals, in
order to improve end-to-end integration of mining and
technological applications;
(D) conducting research and development on alternative
technologies, such as in battery or energy storage
technologies that minimize or do not incorporate critical
minerals;
(E) conducting long-term earth observation of reclaimed
mine sites, including the study of the evolution of microbial
diversity at such sites;
(F) examining the application of artificial intelligence
for geological exploration of critical minerals, including
what size and diversity of data sets would be required;
(G) examining the application of machine learning for
detection and sorting of critical minerals, including what
size and diversity of data sets would be required;
(H) conducting detailed isotope studies of critical
minerals and the development of more refined geologic models;
or
(I) providing training and research opportunities to
undergraduate and graduate students to prepare the next
generation of mining engineers and researchers.
(b) Critical Minerals Interagency Subcommittee.--
(1) In general.--In order to support supply chain
resiliency, the Critical Minerals Subcommittee of the
National Science and Technology Council (referred to in this
subsection as the ``Subcommittee'') shall coordinate Federal
science and technology efforts to ensure secure and reliable
supplies of critical minerals to the United States.
(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Subcommittee shall be--
(A) to advise and assist the Committee on Homeland and
National Security and the National Science and Technology
Council on United States policies, procedures, and plans as
it relates to critical minerals, including--

[[Page S3255]]

(i) Federal research, development, and deployment efforts
to optimize methods for extractions, concentration,
separation, and purification of conventional, secondary, and
unconventional sources of critical minerals, including
research that prioritizes end-to-end integration of mining
and recycling techniques and the end-use target for critical
minerals;
(ii) efficient use and reuse of critical minerals,
including recycling technologies for critical minerals and
the reclamation of critical minerals from components such as
spent batteries;
(iii) research, development, and deployment of materials
and technologies that can be used in place of technologies
utilizing critical minerals, such as battery or energy
storage technologies that minimize or do not incorporate
critical minerals;
(iv) addressing the technology transitions between research
or lab-scale mining and recycling and commercialization of
these technologies;
(v) the critical minerals workforce of the United States;
and
(vi) United States private industry investments in
innovation and technology transfer from federally funded
science and technology;
(B) to identify emerging opportunities, stimulate
international cooperation, and foster the development of
secure and reliable supply chains of critical minerals,
including activities related to the reclamation of critical
minerals via recycling and research and development of
alternative technologies;
(C) to ensure the transparency of information and data
related to critical minerals; and
(D) to provide recommendations on coordination and
collaboration among the research, development, and deployment
programs and activities of Federal agencies to promote a
secure and reliable supply of critical minerals necessary to
maintain national security, economic well-being, and
industrial production.
(3) Responsibilities.--In carrying out paragraphs (1) and
(2), the Subcommittee may, taking into account the findings
and recommendations of relevant advisory committees--
(A) provide recommendations on how Federal agencies may
improve the topographic, geologic, and geophysical mapping of
the United States and improve the discoverability,
accessibility, and usability of the resulting and existing
data, to the extent permitted by law and subject to
appropriate limitation for purposes of privacy and security;
(B) assess the progress toward developing critical minerals
recycling and reprocessing technologies, and alternative
technologies;
(C) assess the end-to-end lifecycle of critical minerals,
including for mining, usage, recycling, and end-use material
and technology requirements;
(D) examine options for accessing and developing critical
minerals through investment and trade with allies and
partners of the United States and provide recommendations;
(E) evaluate and provide recommendations to incentivize the
development and use of advances in science and technology in
the private industry;
(F) assess the need for and make recommendations to address
the challenges the United States critical minerals supply
chain workforce faces, including--
(i) aging and retiring personnel and faculty;
(ii) public perceptions about the nature of mining and
mineral processing; and
(iii) foreign competition for United States talent;
(G) develop, and update as necessary, a strategic plan to
guide Federal programs and activities to enhance--
(i) scientific and technical capabilities across critical
mineral supply chains, including a roadmap that identifies
key research and development needs and coordinates ongoing
activities for source diversification, more efficient use,
recycling, and alternative technologies; and
(ii) cross-cutting mining science, data science techniques,
materials science, manufacturing science and engineering,
computational modeling, and environmental health and safety
research and development; and
(H) report to the appropriate committees of Congress on
activities and findings under this subsection.
(4) Mandatory responsibilities.--In carrying out paragraphs
(1) and (2), the Subcommittee shall, taking into account the
findings and recommendations of the relevant advisory
committees, identify and evaluate Federal policies and
regulations that restrict the mining of critical minerals.
(c) Grant Program for Development of Critical Minerals and
Metals .--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Commerce, in
consultation with the Director, the Secretary of the
Interior, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies,
shall establish a grant program to finance pilot projects for
the development of critical minerals and metals mining,
recycling, and alternative technologies research and
development 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 Commerce shall give priority to
projects that the Secretary of Commerce determines are likely
to be economically viable over the long term.
(4) Secondary recovery.--In awarding grants under paragraph
(1), the Secretary of Commerce 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) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce $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) Alternative technologies.--The term ``alternative
technologies'' means the development of substitute materials
that can substantially satisfy the metrics of the end-use
application by either significantly minimizing or completely
eliminating the need for critical minerals.
(2) Critical mineral; critical mineral or metal.--The terms
``critical mineral'' and ``critical mineral or metal''
include any host mineral of a critical mineral (within the
meaning of those terms in section 7002 of the Energy Act of
2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606).
(3) End-to-end.--The term ``end-to-end'', with respect to
the integration of mining or life cycle of minerals, means
the integrated approach of, or the lifecycle determined by,
examining the research and developmental process from the
mining of the raw minerals to its processing into useful
materials, its integration into components and devices, the
utilization of such devices in the end-use application to
satisfy certain performance metrics, and the recycling or
disposal of such devices.
(4) Recycling.--The term ``recycling'' means the process of
collecting and processing spent materials and devices and
turning them into raw materials or components that can be
reused either partially or completely.
(5) 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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