Bill Summary
The Securing Americas Rare Earths Supply Act of 2019 is a bill that aims to modify the requirements for acquiring and disposing of certain rare earth materials. Rare earth materials are minerals that are essential for various industrial and technological applications. This bill was enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.
The bill includes several provisions, including the establishment of guidance for the acquisition of items containing rare earth materials and the creation of a secure supply chain for these materials from sources within the United States and certain designated foreign countries. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with other government officials, is responsible for developing this guidance.
The bill also allows for the disposal of 3,000,000 pounds of tungsten ores and concentrates from the National Defense Stockpile. Additionally, it authorizes the acquisition of certain strategic and critical materials, such as aerospace-grade rayon and rare earth compounds, using funds from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund.
Furthermore, the bill designates tantalum as a strategic and critical material and allows for its sale from the National Defense Stockpile. However, it also prohibits the sale of any materials that are designated as strategic and critical. This legislation aims to ensure that the United States has a steady supply of rare earth materials for national defense and essential civilian needs.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect people who are in the defense industry, as it requires the acquisition of rare earth materials from sources within the United States and covered foreign sources. This may lead to changes in the supply chain and sourcing of materials, which could impact the production and availability of certain defense-related items.
2. The legislation may also affect people in the mining or refining industry, as it encourages the use of rare earth materials mined, refined, processed, melted, or sintered in the United States. This could lead to an increase in demand for these materials and potentially create new job opportunities in this sector.
3. Consumers could also be affected by this legislation, as it may lead to changes in the prices of certain products that contain rare earth materials. This could include electronics, vehicles, and other items that use these materials in their production.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3567 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3567
To modify the requirements relating to the acquisition and disposal of
certain rare earth materials, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2019
Ms. Houlahan (for herself and Mr. Cook) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modify the requirements relating to the acquisition and disposal of
certain rare earth 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 Americas Rare Earths Supply
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN RARE EARTH MATERIALS.
(a) Guidance on Streamlined Acquisition of Rare Earth Materials.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the Under
Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), the Vice Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the appropriate Under Secretary of
State designated by the Secretary of State shall establish
guidance to--
(A) enable the acquisition of items containing rare
earth materials; and
(B) establish a secure supply chain for rare earth
materials from sources within the United States and
covered foreign sources.
(2) Contents.--The guidance required by paragraph (1) shall
encourage the use of rare earth materials mined, refined,
processed, melted, or sintered in the United States and
include--
(A) a determination of when best value contracting
methods should be used to ensure the viability of a
rare earth material supplier;
(B) a guide to the applicability of relevant
statutes, including sections 2533b and 2533c of title
10, United States Code, and other statutory or
regulatory restrictions to defense contracts and
subcontracts;
(C) information on current sources within the
United States and covered foreign sources of rare earth
materials along with commonly used commercial
documentation and review processes;
(D) directives on budgeting and expending funds for
the qualification and certification of suppliers of
rare earth materials within the United States to meet
national security needs; and
(E) any exceptions to the Joint Capabilities
Integration and Development System Manual and
Department of Defense Directive 5000.01.
(3) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment, in consultation with the
appropriate Under Secretary of State designated by the
Secretary of State, shall submit to the congressional defense
committees, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate a report on--
(A) the guidance required by paragraph (1); and
(B) the efforts of the Secretary of Defense to
create and maintain secure supply chain for rare earth
materials from sources within the United States and
covered foreign sources.
(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Covered foreign source.--The term ``covered
foreign source'' means a source located in a foreign
country that is not an adversary of the United States,
as determined by the Secretary of Defense.
(B) Rare earth material.--The term ``rare earth
material'' means a concentrate, oxide, carbonate,
fluoride, metal, alloy, magnet, or finished product
whose chemical, magnetic, or nuclear properties are
largely defined by the presence of--
(i) yttrium;
(ii) scandium; or
(iii) any lanthanide series element.
(b) Authority To Dispose of and Acquire Materials for the National
Defense Stockpile.--
(1) Disposal authority.--Pursuant to section 5(b) of the
Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C.
98d(b)), the National Defense Stockpile Manager shall dispose
of 3,000,000 pounds of tungsten ores and concentrates contained
in the National Defense Stockpile (in addition to any amount
previously authorized for disposal).
(2) Acquisition authority.--
(A) Authority.--Using funds available in the
National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund, the
National Defense Stockpile Manager may acquire the
following materials determined to be strategic and
critical materials required to meet the defense,
industrial, and essential civilian needs of the United
States:
(i) Aerospace-grade rayon.
(ii) Electrolytic manganese metal.
(iii) Pitch-based carbon fiber.
(iv) Rare earth cerium compounds.
(v) Rare earth lanthanum compounds.
(B) Amount of authority.--The National Defense
Stockpile Manager may use up to $37,420,000 in the
National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund for
acquisition of the materials specified in subsection
(b).
(C) Fiscal year limitation.--The authority under
subsection (b) is available for purchases during fiscal
year 2020 through fiscal year 2024.
(c) National Defense Stockpile Sales.--
(1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
tantalum should be designated as a strategic and critical
material under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock
Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.) required to meet the defense,
industrial, and essential civilian needs of the United States.
(2) National defense stockpile sales of tantalum.--Section
2533c(d)(1) of title 10, United States code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(E) tantalum.''.
(3) Prohibition on sales of materials.--Section 2533c(a)(2)
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking
``covered'' before ``material''.
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