[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7807 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7807
To create intergovernmental coordination between State, local, Tribal,
and territorial jurisdictions, and the Federal Government to combat
United States reliance on the People's Republic of China and other
covered countries for critical minerals and rare earth metals, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 22, 2024
Mr. Obernolte introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create intergovernmental coordination between State, local, Tribal,
and territorial jurisdictions, and the Federal Government to combat
United States reliance on the People's Republic of China and other
covered countries for critical minerals and rare earth metals, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Intergovernmental Critical Minerals
Task Force Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) current supply chains of critical minerals pose a great
risk to the national security of the United States;
(2) critical minerals are necessary for transportation,
technology, renewable energy, military equipment and machinery,
and other relevant sectors crucial for the homeland and
national security of the United States;
(3) in 2022, the United States was 100 percent import
reliant for 12 out of 50 critical minerals and more than 50
percent import reliant for an additional 31 critical mineral
commodities classified as ``critical'' by the United States
Geological Survey, and the People's Republic of China was the
top producing nation for 30 of those 50 critical minerals;
(4) as of July 2023, companies based in the People's
Republic of China that extract critical minerals around the
world have received hundreds of charges of human rights
violations; and
(5) on March 26, 2014, the World Trade Organization ruled
that the export restraints by the People's Republic of China on
rare earth metals violated obligations under the protocol of
accession to the World Trade Organization, which harmed
manufacturers and workers in the United States.
SEC. 3. INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS TASK FORCE.
(a) In General.--Section 5 of the National Materials and Minerals
Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force.--
``(1) Purposes.--The purposes of the task force established
under paragraph (3)(B) are--
``(A) to assess the reliance of the United States
on the People's Republic of China, and other covered
countries, for critical minerals, and the resulting
national security risks associated with that reliance,
at each level of the Federal Government, Indian Tribes,
and State, local, and territorial governments;
``(B) to make recommendations to the President for
the implementation of this Act with regard to critical
minerals, including--
``(i) the congressional declarations of
policies in section 3; and
``(ii) revisions to the program plan of the
President and the initiatives required under
this section;
``(C) to make recommendations to secure United
States and global supply chains for critical minerals;
``(D) to make recommendations to reduce the
reliance of the United States, and partners and allies
of the United States, on critical mineral supply chains
involving covered countries; and
``(E) to facilitate cooperation, coordination, and
mutual accountability among each level of the Federal
Government, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and
territorial governments, on a holistic response to the
dependence on covered countries for critical minerals
across the United States.
``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
`appropriate committees of Congress' means--
``(i) the Committees on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs, Energy and Natural
Resources, Armed Services, Environment and
Public Works, Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, Finance, and Foreign Relations
of the Senate; and
``(ii) the Committees on Oversight and
Accountability, Natural Resources, Armed
Services, Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, and
Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
``(B) Chair.--The term `Chair' means a member of
the Executive Office of the President, designated by
the President pursuant to paragraph (3)(A).
``(C) Covered country.--The term `covered country'
means--
``(i) a covered nation (as defined in
section 4872(d) of title 10, United States
Code); and
``(ii) any other country determined by the
task force to be a geostrategic competitor or
adversary of the United States with respect to
critical minerals.
``(D) Critical mineral.--The term `critical
mineral' has the meaning given the term in section
7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
``(E) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25
U.S.C. 5304).
``(F) Task force.--The term `task force' means the
task force established under paragraph (3)(B).
``(3) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the President shall--
``(A) designate a Chair for the task force; and
``(B) acting through the Executive Office of the
President, establish a task force.
``(4) Composition; meetings.--
``(A) Appointment.--The Chair, in consultation with
key intergovernmental, private, and public sector
stakeholders, shall appoint to the task force
representatives with expertise in critical mineral
supply chains from Federal agencies, Indian Tribes, and
State, local, and territorial governments, including
not less than 1 representative from each of--
``(i) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
``(ii) the Bureau of Land Management;
``(iii) the Critical Minerals Subcommittee
of the National Science and Technology Council;
``(iv) the Department of Agriculture;
``(v) the Department of Commerce;
``(vi) the Department of Defense;
``(vii) the Department of Energy;
``(viii) the Department of Homeland
Security;
``(ix) the Department of the Interior;
``(x) the Department of Labor;
``(xi) the Department of State;
``(xii) the Department of Transportation;
``(xiii) the Environmental Protection
Agency;
``(xiv) the Export-Import Bank of the
United States;
``(xv) the Forest Service;
``(xvi) the General Services
Administration;
``(xvii) the National Science Foundation;
``(xviii) the Office of the United States
Trade Representative;
``(xix) the United States International
Development Finance Corporation;
``(xx) the United States Geological Survey;
and
``(xxi) any other relevant Federal entity,
as determined by the Chair.
``(B) Consultation.--The task force shall consult
individuals with expertise in critical mineral supply
chains, individuals from States whose communities,
businesses, and industries are involved in aspects of
critical mineral supply chains, including mining and
processing operations, and individuals from a diverse
and balanced cross-section of--
``(i) intergovernmental consultees,
including--
``(I) State governments;
``(II) local governments;
``(III) territorial governments;
and
``(IV) Indian Tribes; and
``(ii) other stakeholders, including--
``(I) academic research
institutions;
``(II) corporations;
``(III) nonprofit organizations;
``(IV) private sector stakeholders;
``(V) trade associations;
``(VI) mining industry
stakeholders; and
``(VII) labor representatives.
``(C) Meetings.--
``(i) Initial meeting.--Not later than 90
days after the date on which all
representatives of the task force have been
appointed, the task force shall hold the first
meeting of the task force.
``(ii) Frequency.--The task force shall
meet not less than once every 90 days.
``(5) Duties.--
``(A) In general.--The duties of the task force
shall include--
``(i) facilitating cooperation,
coordination, and mutual accountability for the
Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and State,
local, and territorial governments to enhance
data sharing and transparency to build more
robust and secure domestic supply chains for
critical minerals in support of the purposes
described in paragraph (1);
``(ii) providing recommendations with
respect to--
``(I) increasing capacities for
mining, processing, refinement, reuse,
and recycling of critical minerals in
the United States to facilitate the
environmentally responsible production
of domestic resources to meet national
critical mineral needs, in consultation
with Tribal and local communities;
``(II) identifying how statutes,
regulations, and policies related to
the critical mineral supply chain, such
as stockpiling and development finance,
could be modified to accelerate
environmentally responsible domestic
and international production of
critical minerals, in consultation with
Indian Tribes and local communities;
``(III) strengthening the domestic
workforce to support growing critical
mineral supply chains with good-paying,
safe jobs in the United States;
``(IV) identifying alternative
domestic and global sources to critical
minerals that the United States
currently relies on the People's
Republic of China or other covered
countries for mining, processing,
refining, and recycling, including the
availability, cost, and quality of
those domestic alternatives;
``(V) identifying critical minerals
and critical mineral supply chains that
the United States can onshore, at a
competitive availability, cost, and
quality, for those minerals and supply
chains that the United States relies on
the People's Republic of China or other
covered countries to provide;
``(VI) opportunities for the
Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and
State, local, and territorial
governments to mitigate risks to the
national security of the United States
with respect to supply chains for
critical minerals that the United
States currently relies on the People's
Republic of China or other covered
countries for mining, processing,
refining, and recycling; and
``(VII) evaluating and integrating
the recommendations of the Critical
Minerals Subcommittee of the National
Science and Technology Council into the
recommendations of the task force;
``(iii) prioritizing the recommendations in
clause (ii), taking into consideration economic
costs and focusing on the critical mineral
supply chains with vulnerabilities posing the
most significant risks to the national security
of the United States;
``(iv) recommending specific strategies, to
be carried out in coordination with the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Commerce, to strengthen international
partnerships in furtherance of critical
minerals supply chain security with
international allies and partners, including a
strategy to collaborate with governments of the
allies and partners described in subparagraph
(B) to develop advanced mining, refining,
separation and processing technologies; and
``(v) other duties, as determined by the
Chair.
``(B) Allies and partners.--The allies and partners
referred to in subparagraph (A) include--
``(i) countries participating in the
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue;
``(ii) countries that are--
``(I) signatories to the Abraham
Accords; or
``(II) participants in the Negev
Forum;
``(iii) countries that are members of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and
``(iv) other countries or multilateral
partnerships the task force determines to be
appropriate.
``(C) Report.--The Chair shall--
``(i) not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, and every 60
days thereafter until the requirements under
subsection (a) are satisfied, brief the
appropriate committees of Congress on the
status of the compliance of the President with
completing the requirements under that
subsection;
``(ii) not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report,
which shall be submitted in unclassified form,
but may include a classified annex, that
describes any findings, guidelines, and
recommendations created in performing the
duties under subparagraph (A);
``(iii) not later than 120 days after the
date on which the Chair submits the report
under clause (ii), publish that report in the
Federal Register and on the website of the
Office of Management and Budget, except that
the Chair shall redact information from the
report that the Chair determines could pose a
risk to the national security of the United
States by being publicly available; and
``(iv) brief the appropriate committees of
Congress twice per year.
``(6) Sunset.--The task force shall terminate on the date
that is 90 days after the date on which the task force
completes the requirements under paragraph (5)(C).''.
(b) GAO Study.--
(1) Study required.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study examining the Federal and State
regulatory landscape related to improving domestic supply
chains for critical minerals in the United States.
(2) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report that describes the results of the study under paragraph
(1).
(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(i) the Committees on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, Energy and Natural
Resources, Armed Services, Environment and
Public Works, Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, Finance, and Foreign Relations
of the Senate; and
(ii) the Committees on Oversight and
Accountability, Natural Resources, Armed
Services, Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, and
Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
(B) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical
mineral'' has the meaning given the term in section
7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
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