HR 2011 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011

Fact sheet

Latest action · Oct 14, 2011 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 164.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMay 26, 2011
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011 - (Sec. 3) Declares that it is the continuing policy of the United States to promote an adequate and stable supply of minerals to maintain the nation's economic well-being, security, and manufacturing, industrial, energy, agricultural, and technological capabilities.

(Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (Survey), to report to Congress: (1) an inventory of the nonfossil-fuel mineral potential of lands under BLM and U.S. Forest Service jurisdiction; (2) an identification of all such lands that have been withdrawn, segregated, or otherwise restricted from mineral exploration and development; (3) a detailed description of the time required to process mineral applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and other use authorizations for mineral-related activities on lands; (4) an itemized list of all use authorizations for which applications are pending; (5) an assessment of the impact of litigation on the processing or issuing of permits; (6) an assessment of the federal workforce with educational degrees and expertise in economic geology, geochemistry, mining, industrial minerals, metallurgy, metallurgical engineering, and mining engineering; and (7) an inventory of rare earth element potential on federal lands, and impediments to or restrictions on the exploration or development of those rare earth elements, with recommendations to lift the impediments or restrictions while maintaining environmental safeguards.

Requires progress reports to Congress on: (1) efforts to increase access to domestic supplies of minerals, and facilitation of their production; (2) implementation of recommendations in National Research Council reports on "Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy" and on "Managing Minerals for a Twenty-First Century Military"; (3) the Department of Energy Critical Minerals Strategy I and II; and (4) a specified Department of Defense assessment and plan for critical rare earth elements in defense applications.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Survey, for the first National Mineral Assessment conducted after enactment of this Act, to include mineral assessments for mineral commodities important to the nation's energy infrastructure, manufacturing and agricultural industries, and to the national defense. Urges priority be given to minerals that are critical based on the impact of a potential supply restriction and the likelihood of a supply restriction.

(Sec. 6) Directs the Survey to expand the current Global Mineral Assessment to include mineral assessments for rare earth elements and other minerals that are critical based on the impact of a potential supply restriction and the likelihood of a supply restriction.

Requires such assessments to include an analysis, developed with participation by the National Minerals Information Center, of the rare earth elements or other critical minerals supply chain and associated processes and products, including mining, processing, recycling, separation, metal production, alloy production, and manufacturing of products sold to end users.

Cosponsors 35

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 26, 2011 to Jul 19, 2011, with 21 there on the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
R-MDAndy HarrisOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-OHBill JohnsonOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-WACathy McMorris RodgersOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-TNCharles J. "Chuck" FleischmannOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-WYCynthia M. LummisOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-MIDan BenishekOriginalMay 26, 2011
D-OKDan BorenOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-FLDavid RiveraOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-WADoc HastingsOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-AKDon YoungOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-CAElton GalleglyOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-PAGlenn ThompsonOriginalMay 26, 2011
D-UTJim MathesonOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-LAJohn FlemingOriginalMay 26, 2011
R-TNJohn J. Duncan, Jr.OriginalMay 26, 2011

Actions 9

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Oct 14, 2011Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 164.
  2. Oct 14, 2011Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 112-248.
  3. Jul 20, 2011Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  4. Jul 20, 2011Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Jul 20, 2011Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Oct 14, 2011Reported in House
  2. May 26, 2011Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.