118 HR 7662 IH: Critical Minerals Security Act of 2024
U.S. House of Representatives
2024-03-13
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I
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7662
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 13, 2024
Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Waltz, and Ms. Castor of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Critical Minerals Security Act of 2024”.
2.

Definitions
In this Act:
(1)

Covered nation
The term covered nation has the meaning given that term in section 4872 of title 10, United States Code.
(2)

Critical mineral
The term critical mineral has the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
(3)

Foreign entity of concern
The term foreign entity of concern has the meaning given that term in section 40207 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18741).
(4)

Rare earth elements
The term rare earth elements means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium.
(5)

United States person
The term United States person means—
(A)
a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or
(B)
an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
3.

Reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources
(a)

In general
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on all critical mineral and rare earth element resources around the world that includes—
(1)
an assessment of—
(A)
which of such resources are under the control of a foreign entity of concern, including through ownership, contract, or economic or political influence;
(B)
which of such resources are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the United States or a country that is an ally or partner of the United States;
(C)
which of such resources are not owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign entity of concern or a country described in subparagraph (B); and
(D)
in the case of such resources not undergoing commercial mining, the reasons for the lack of commercial mining;
(2)
for each mine from which significant quantities of critical minerals or rare earth elements are being extracted, as of the date that is one year before the date of the report—
(A)
an estimate of the annual volume of output of the mine as of that date;
(B)
an estimate of the total volume of mineral or elements that remain in the mine as of that date;
(C)
(i)
an identification of the country and entity operating the mine; or
(ii)
if the mine is operated by more than one country or entity, an estimate of the output of each mineral or element from the mine to which each such country or entity has access; and
(D)
an identification of the ultimate beneficial owners of the mine and the percentage of ownership held by each such owner;
(3)
for each mine not described in paragraph (2), to the extent practicable—
(A)
an estimate of the aggregate annual volume of output of the mines as of the date that is one year before the date of the report;
(B)
an estimate of the aggregate total volume of mineral or elements that remain in the mines as of that date; and
(C)
an estimate of the aggregate total output of each mineral or element from the mine to which a foreign entity of concern has access;
(4)
(A)
a list of key foreign entities of concern involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements;
(B)
a list of key entities in the United States and countries that are allies or partners of the United States involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements; and
(C)
an assessment of the technical feasibility of entities listed under subparagraphs (A) and (B) mining and processing resources identified under paragraph (1)(C) using existing advanced technology;
(5)
an assessment, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with countries in which mines or mineral processing operations (or both) are located that are operated by other countries, or are operated by entities from other countries, to ensure ongoing access by the United States and countries that are allies and partners of the United States to those mines and processing operations;
(6)
a list, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, identifying, to the maximum extent practicable, all cases in which entities were forced to divest stock in mining or processing operations for critical minerals and rare earth elements based on—
(A)
regulatory rulings of the government of a covered nation;
(B)
joint regulatory rulings of such a government and the government of another country; or
(C)
rulings of a relevant tribunal or other entity authorized to render binding decisions on divestiture;
(7)
a list of all cases in which the government of a covered nation purchased an entity that was forced to divest stock as described in paragraph (6); and
(8)
a list of all cases in which mining or processing operations (or both) for critical minerals and rare earth elements that were not subject to a ruling described in paragraph (6) were taken over by—
(A)
the government of a covered nation; or
(B)
an entity located in, or influenced or controlled by, such a government.
(b)

Form of report
Each report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex if necessary.
4.

Process for notifying United States Government of divestment
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish a process under which—
(1)
a United States person seeking to divest stock in mining or mineral processing operations for critical minerals and rare earth elements in a foreign country may notify the Secretary of the intention of the person to divest such stock; and
(2)
the Secretary may provide assistance to the person to find a purchaser that is not under the control of the government of a covered nation.
5.

Strategy on development of advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies
(a)

In general
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall develop—
(1)
a strategy to collaborate with the governments of countries that are allies and partners of the United States to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies; and
(2)
a method for sharing the intellectual property resulting from the development of such technologies with those countries to enable those countries to license such technologies and mine, refine, separate, and process the resources of such countries.
(b)

Reports required
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the progress made in developing the strategy and method described in subsection (a).