§ 98e–2 — Multiyear Procurement Authority For Domestically Processed Critical Minerals

(a) Subject to section 3501 of title 10 and from amounts made available by discretionary appropriations Acts from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (as established under section 9(a) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98h(a))) after December 22, 2023, the Secretary of Defense may enter into one or more multiyear contracts for the procurement of critical minerals that are processed in the United States by domestic sources. (b) A multiyear contract entered into under this section shall be deemed to be an acquisition under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.). (c) The Secretary of Defense may enter into one or more contracts, beginning in fiscal year 2024, for advance procurement associated with the domestically processed critical minerals for which authorization to enter into a multiyear procurement contract is provided under subsection (a). (d) A contract entered into under subsection (a) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2024 is subject to the availability of appropriations or funds for that purpose for such later fiscal year. (e) In this section: (1) The term “critical mineral” means a mineral determined to be a strategic and critical material under section 3(a) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b(a)). (2) The term “processed” means the processing or recycling of a critical mineral or magnet, including the separation, reduction, metallization, alloying, milling, pressing, strip casting, and sintering of a critical mineral. (3) The term “domestic source” has the meaning given that term in section 4552 of this title.