The Congress finds that the natural resources of the United States in certain strategic and critical materials are deficient or insufficiently developed to supply the military, industrial, and essential civilian needs of the United States for national defense.

It is the purpose of this subchapter to provide for the acquisition and retention of stocks of certain strategic and critical materials and to encourage the conservation and development of sources of such materials within the United States and thereby to decrease and to preclude, when possible, a dangerous and costly depend­ence by the United States upon foreign sources or a single point of failure for supplies of such materials in times of national emergency.

The purpose of the National Defense Stockpile is to serve the interest of national defense only. The National Defense Stockpile is not to be used for economic or budgetary purposes.

To the maximum extent practicable and to reduce the reliance of the National Defense Stockpile program on appropriated funds, the National Defense Stockpile Manager shall seek to achieve positive cash flows from the recovery of strategic and critical materials pursuant to section 98e(a)(5) of this title.