Report on prioritization of recovery of rare earth elements from end-of-life equipment

(a) Report required Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the efforts of the Department of Defense to prioritize the recovery of rare earth elements from end-of-life equipment of the Department through the Strategic Materials Recovery and Reuse Program. (b) Elements The report required by subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) A description of current activities of the Strategic Materials Recovery and Reuse Program to recover rare earth elements from end-of-life equipment of the Department of Defense. (2) An assessment of planned expansions of the Strategic Materials Recovery and Reuse Program to increase the recovery and recycling of rare earth elements within the United States. (3) A description of the management practices, partnerships, and resource requirements necessary to scale the operations of the Strategic Materials Recovery and Reuse Program to increase the recovery and recycling of rare earth elements within the United States. (4) Recommendations for enhancing the recovery and recycling of rare earth elements domestically under the Strategic Materials Recovery and Reuse Program to support the defense industrial base and reduce the reliance of the Department of Defense on foreign sources for rare earth elements. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) The term strategic and critical materials means materials determined by the President to be strategic and critical materials under section 3(a) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b(a)). (2) The term Strategic Materials Recovery and Reuse Program means the program of the Defense Logistics Agency established pursuant to section 6(a)(5) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98e(a)(5)) for the recovery of strategic and critical materials available from Federal agencies.