119-s1130

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1130 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1130

 To require the Secretary of Energy to provide technology grants to 
 strengthen domestic mining education, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 25, 2025

 Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Hoeven, Ms. Cortez 
Masto, Mr. Justice, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Rounds, Ms. 
 Rosen, and Mr. Gallego) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of Energy to provide technology grants to 
 strengthen domestic mining education, 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 ``Technology Grants to Strengthen 
Domestic Mining Education Act of 2025'' or the ``Mining Schools Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. TECHNOLOGY GRANTS TO STRENGTHEN DOMESTIC MINING EDUCATION.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Mining 
 Professional Development Advisory Board established by 
 subsection
            (d) (1) .

    (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
 ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
 term in 

section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1001).

    (3) Mining industry.--The term ``mining industry'' means 
 the mining industry of the United States, consisting of the 
 search for, and extraction, beneficiation, refining, smelting, 
 processing, reprocessing, and recycling of, naturally occurring 
 metal and nonmetal minerals from the earth.

    (4) Mining profession.--The term ``mining profession'' 
 means the body of jobs directly relevant to--
        (A) the exploration, planning, execution, and 
 remediation of metal and nonmetal mining sites; and
        (B) the extraction, including the separation, 
 refining, alloying, smelting, concentration, 
 processing, reprocessing, and recycling, of mineral 
 ores.

    (5) Mining school.--The term ``mining school'' means--
        (A) a mining, metallurgical, geological, or mineral 
 engineering program accredited by the Accreditation 
 Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., that is 
 located at an institution of higher education, 
 including a Tribal College or University (as defined in 
 

section 316

    (b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1059c

    (b) )); or
        (B) a geology or engineering program or department 
 that is located at a 4-year public institution of 
 higher education located in a State the gross domestic 
 product of which in 2021 was not less than 
 $2,000,000,000 in the combined categories of ``Mining 
 (except oil and gas)'' and ``Support activities for 
 mining'', according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Energy.

    (b) Domestic Mining Education Strengthening Program.--The 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior (acting 
through the Director of the United States Geological Survey), shall--

    (1) establish a grant program to strengthen domestic mining 
 education; and

    (2) under the program established in paragraph

    (1) , award 
 competitive grants to mining schools for the purpose of 
 recruiting and educating the next generation of mining 
 engineers and other qualified professionals to meet the future 
 energy and mineral needs of the United States.
            (c) Grants.--

    (1) In general.--In carrying out the grant program 
 established under subsection

    (b)

    (1) , the Secretary shall award 
 not more than 10 grants each year to mining schools.

    (2) Selection requirements.--
        (A) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, 
 the Secretary shall select recipients for grants under 
 paragraph

    (1) to ensure geographic diversity among 
 grant recipients to ensure that region-specific 
 specialties are developed for region-specific geology.
        (B) Timeline.--The Secretary shall award the grants 
 under paragraph

    (1) by not later than the later of--
            (i) the date that is 180 days after the 
 start of the applicable fiscal year; and
            (ii) the date that is 180 days after the 
 date on which the Act making full-year 
 appropriations for the Department of Energy for 
 the applicable fiscal year is enacted.

    (3) Recommendations of the board.--
        (A) In general.--In selecting recipients for grants 
 under paragraph

    (1) and determining the amount of each 
 grant, the Secretary, to the maximum extent 
 practicable, shall take into consideration the 
 recommendations of the Board under subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) of subsection
            (d) (3) .
        (B) Selection statement.--In selecting recipients 
 for grants under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary shall--
            (i) in response to a recommendation from 
 the Board, submit to the Board a statement that 
 describes--
            (I) whether the Secretary accepts 
 or rejects, in whole or in part, the 
 recommendation of the Board; and
            (II) the justification and 
 rationale for any rejection, in whole 
 or in part, of the recommendation of 
 the Board; and
            (ii) not later than 15 days after awarding 
 a grant for which the Board submitted a 
 recommendation, publish the statement submitted 
 under clause
            (i) on the Department of Energy 
 website.

    (4) Use of funds.--A mining school receiving a grant under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall use the grant funds--
        (A) to recruit students to the mining school; and
        (B) to enhance and support programs related to, as 
 applicable--
            (i) mining, mineral extraction efficiency, 
 and related processing technology;
            (ii) emphasizing critical mineral and rare 
 earth element exploration, extraction, and 
 refining;
            (iii) reclamation technology and practices 
 for active mining operations;
            (iv) the development of reprocessing 
 systems and technologies that facilitate 
 reclamation that fosters the recovery of 
 resources at abandoned mine sites;
            (v) mineral extraction, refining, 
 processing, reprocessing, and recycling methods 
 that reduce environmental and human impacts;
            (vi) technologies to extract, refine, 
 separate, smelt, produce, or recycle minerals, 
 including rare earth elements;
            (vii) reducing dependence on foreign energy 
 and mineral supplies through increased domestic 
 critical mineral production and recycling;
            (viii) enhancing the competitiveness of 
 United States energy and mineral technology 
 exports;
            (ix) the extraction or processing of 
 coinciding mineralization, including rare earth 
 elements, within coal or other ores, coal or 
 mineral processing byproduct, overburden, or 
 residue from coal, minerals, or other ores;
            (x) enhancing technologies and practices 
 relating to mitigation of acid mine drainage, 
 reforestation, and revegetation in the 
 reclamation of land and water resources 
 adversely affected by mining;
            (xi) enhancing exploration and 
 characterization of new or novel deposits, 
 including rare earth elements and critical 
 minerals within phosphate rocks, uranium-
 bearing deposits, and other nontraditional 
 sources;
            (xii) meeting challenges of extreme mining 
 conditions, such as deeper deposits or cold 
 region mining;
            (xiii) mineral economics, including 
 analysis of supply chains, future mineral 
 needs, and unconventional mining resources; and
            (xiv) mining practices that reduce 
 environmental impact, including mining 
 practices that reduce water usage, mitigate 
 surface disturbance, and promote overall 
 resource efficiency.
            (d) Mining Professional Development Advisory Board.--

    (1) In general.--There is established an advisory board, to 
 be known as the ``Mining Professional Development Advisory 
 Board''.

    (2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 6 members, 
 to be appointed by the Secretary not later than 180 days after 
 the date of enactment of this Act, of whom--
        (A) 3 shall be individuals who are actively working 
 in the mining profession and for the mining industry; 
 and
        (B) 3 shall have experience in academia 
 implementing and operating professional skills training 
 and education programs in the mining sector.

    (3) Duties.--The Board shall--
        (A) evaluate grant applications received under 
 subsection
            (c) and make recommendations to the 
 Secretary for selection of grant recipients under that 
 subsection;
        (B) propose the amount of the grant for each 
 applicant recommended to be selected under subparagraph
        (A) ; and
            (C) perform oversight to ensure that grant funds 
 awarded under subsection
            (c) are used for the purposes 
 described in paragraph

    (4) of that subsection.

    (4) Term.--A member of the Board shall serve for a term of 
 4 years.

    (5) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Board--
        (A) shall not affect the powers of the Board; and
        (B) shall be filled in the same manner as the 
 original appointment was made by not later than 180 
 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs.

    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2033.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF THE MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES INSTITUTES ACT.

 The Mining and Mineral Resources Institutes Act (30 U.S.C. 1221 et 
seq.) is repealed.
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