The National Critical Materials Act
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The National Critical Materials Act Call for MRS Involvement in New Council Designated as National Watchdog of Materials Research Activities Harry Leamy AT&T
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rofound acknowledgment of the importance of materials research to the well-being of society has recently been provided by the government of the United States of America in the form of Public Law 98-373: National Critical Materials Act of 1984. This law provides for the establishment of a National Critical Materials Council within the Executive Office of the President that is responsible for coordination of the government's materials-related policies, programs, and research and technology activities. This new legislation, the major features of which are reproduced on the next page in this issue of the BULLETIN, promises to touch all of us in some way during the coming years.
The law establishes a National Critical Materials Council consisting of three presidential appointees who are qualified in materials policy or materials science and engineering. The Council is primarily responsible for the formulation of national materials policies consistent with other Federal policies. This activity includes establishing responsibilities for programs and priorities for materials activities in each Federal department or agency. The Council will also review materials programs and activities of the government for consistency with the National Materials and Minerals Policy Research and Development Act of 1980. It will monitor the critical needs of both industry and government, and it will advise the President of world trends and their implications for national and world economy and national security. The Council will also assess the adequacy of the materials-related educational enterprise. Finally, the Council will provide a domestic inventory of critical materials, project the needs of government and industry for them, and work with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and others to develop a long-range assessment of prospective major problems. The first such report is due on April 1, 1985 and is to be followed by updates at least biennially. Finally, the Council will recommend to Congress the changes in policy, regulation, and legislation that might be required. This summary of Section 204(a) of P. L. 98-373 makes clear that the responsibilities of the Council are broad. Essentially all of the many agencies whose missions involve materials procurement, development, and application are subject to review by the Council. The Council is given the authority to establish advisory panels to assist it in its work, and to convene Federal interagency committees as necessary. It is also decreed in the legislation that the Council shall work with and obtain assistance from the National Security Council, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Bell Laboratories
Indeed, the responsibilities of the Council are so vast that such collaboration will be essential. The relationship of the Council
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