[Page S2734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1503. Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Cramer, Mrs. 
Capito, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Daines, Mr. 
Lankford, and Ms. Sinema) 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:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ____. CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAINS AND RELIABILITY.

       (a) Definition of Critical Mineral.--In this section, 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)).
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) critical minerals are fundamental to the economy, 
     competitiveness, and security of the United States;
       (2) many critical minerals are only economic to recover 
     when combined with the production of a host mineral;
       (3) to the maximum extent practicable, the critical mineral 
     needs of the United States should be satisfied by minerals 
     responsibly produced and recycled in the United States; and
       (4) the Federal permitting process has been identified as 
     an impediment to mineral production and the mineral security 
     of the United States.
       (c) Federal Permitting and Review Performance 
     Improvements.--To improve the quality and timeliness of 
     Federal permitting and review processes with respect to 
     critical mineral production on Federal land, the Secretary of 
     the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 
     Land Management, and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
     through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to in this 
     section as the ``Secretaries''), to the maximum extent 
     practicable, shall complete the Federal permitting and review 
     processes with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, while 
     supporting vital economic growth, by--
       (1) establishing and adhering to timelines and schedules 
     for the consideration of, and final decisions regarding, 
     applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 
     other use authorizations for critical mineral-related 
     activities on Federal land;
       (2) establishing clear, quantifiable, and temporal 
     permitting performance goals and tracking progress against 
     those goals;
       (3) engaging in early collaboration among agencies, project 
     sponsors, and affected stakeholders--
       (A) to incorporate and address the interests of those 
     parties; and
       (B) to minimize delays;
       (4) ensuring transparency and accountability by using cost-
     effective information technology to collect and disseminate 
     information regarding individual projects and agency 
     performance;
       (5) engaging in early and active consultation with State, 
     local, and Tribal governments--
       (A) to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort;
       (B) to resolve concerns; and
       (C) to allow for concurrent, rather than sequential, 
     reviews;
       (6) providing demonstrable improvements in the performance 
     of Federal permitting and review processes, including lower 
     costs and more timely decisions;
       (7) expanding and institutionalizing Federal permitting and 
     review process improvements that have proven effective;
       (8) developing mechanisms to better communicate priorities 
     and resolve disputes among agencies at the national, 
     regional, State, and local levels; and
       (9) developing other practices, such as preapplication 
     procedures.
       (d) Review and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit 
     to Congress a report that--
       (1) identifies additional measures, including regulatory 
     and legislative proposals, if appropriate, that would 
     increase the timeliness of permitting activities for the 
     exploration and development of domestic critical minerals;
       (2) identifies options, including cost recovery paid by 
     permit applicants, for ensuring adequate staffing and 
     training of Federal entities and personnel responsible for 
     the consideration of applications, operating plans, leases, 
     licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for critical 
     mineral-related activities on Federal land;
       (3) quantifies the period of time typically required to 
     complete each step associated with the development and 
     processing of applications, operating plans, leases, 
     licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for critical 
     mineral-related activities on Federal land, including by--
       (A) calculating the range, the mean, the median, the 
     variance, and other statistical measures or representations 
     of the period of time; and
       (B) taking into account other aspects that affect the 
     period of time that are outside the control of the Executive 
     branch, such as judicial review, applicant decisions, or 
     State and local government involvement; and
       (4) describes actions carried out pursuant to subsection 
     (c).
       (e) Performance Metric.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     date of submission of the report under subsection (d), and 
     after providing public notice and an opportunity to comment, 
     the Secretaries, using as a baseline the period of time 
     quantified under paragraph (3) of that subsection, shall 
     develop and publish a performance metric for evaluating the 
     progress made by the Executive branch to expedite the 
     permitting of activities that will increase exploration for, 
     and development of, domestic critical minerals, while 
     maintaining environmental standards.
       (f) Annual Reports.--Not later than the date on which the 
     President submits the first budget of the President under 
     section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, after 
     publication of the performance metric required under 
     subsection (e), and annually thereafter, the Secretaries 
     shall submit to Congress a report that--
       (1) summarizes the implementation of recommendations, 
     measures, and options identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
     subsection (d);
       (2) using the performance metric developed under subsection 
     (e), describes progress made by the Executive branch, as 
     compared to the baseline developed pursuant to subsection 
     (d)(3), in expediting the permitting of activities that will 
     increase exploration for, and development of, domestic 
     critical minerals; and
       (3) compares the United States to other countries in terms 
     of permitting efficiency and any other criteria relevant to 
     the globally competitive critical minerals industry.
       (g) Individual Projects.--Each year, using data contained 
     in the reports submitted under subsection (f), the Director 
     of the Office of Management and Budget shall prioritize 
     inclusion of individual critical mineral projects on the 
     website operated by the Office of Management and Budget in 
     accordance with section 1122 of title 31, United States Code.
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