H.R. 3617 — Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act

This section amends the Department of Energy Organization Act by (1) defining "critical energy resource," for purposes of new DOE responsibilities, as any energy resource essential to U.S. energy sector and systems with a supply chain vulnerable to disruption; (2) adding to DOE's statutory purposes the responsibility to ensure an adequate and reliable supply of such resources for U.S. energy security; and (3) assigning DOE functions to secure their supply, including identifying and mitigating disruption effects on energy technology development and use and on energy system operations.

This section directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with federal agencies, energy sector representatives, states, and stakeholders, to (1) conduct ongoing assessments of critical energy resource criticality and the U.S. supply chain—including its vulnerability, domestic diversity, production capacity constraints, relevant federal regulations, import reliance, and adversarial nations' market exploitation; (2) facilitate strategies to strengthen supply chains by diversifying sources and increasing domestic production, separation, and processing; (3) develop substitutes and alternatives to critical energy resources; and (4) improve reuse and recycling technologies for such resources. The section further requires the Secretary to submit a report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources not later than two years after enactment describing the status of these assessments and any resulting regulations, guidance, or actions. In this section, the term "critical energy resource" has the meaning given in section 2 of the Department of Energy Organization Act (i.e., minerals and other resources essential to energy technologies such as batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines).