1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Securing Energy Critical Elements and American Jobs Act of 2019 . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate Congressional committees means the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. (2) Center The term Center means the Critical Materials Information Center established under section 101(d). (3) Department The term Department means the Department of Energy. (4) Energy critical element The term energy critical element means any of a class of chemical elements that have a high risk of a supply disruption and are critical to one or more new, energy-related technologies such that a shortage of such element would significantly inhibit large-scale deployment of technologies that produce, transmit, store, or conserve energy. (5) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001(a) ). (6) Program The term program means the program authorized in section 101(a). (7) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy. I Energy Critical Elements 101. Energy critical elements program (a) Authorization of program (1) In general The Secretary shall carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application to assure the long-term, secure, and sustainable supply of energy critical elements sufficient to satisfy the national security, economic well-being, and industrial production needs of the United States. This program may be carried out primarily by an Energy Innovation Hub established under section 206 of the Department of Energy Research Coordination Act ( 42 U.S.C. 18632 ). (2) Program activities The program shall focus on areas that the private sector by itself is not likely to undertake because of technical and