[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1082 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1082
Calling upon the International Seabed Authority to adopt regulations
allowing the collection of critical minerals from the international
seabed area, which will enable America to regain reliable and
responsible supply chains, provide high-wage jobs for United States
citizens, secure supply chains away from the People's Republic of
China's dominance of the critical mineral supply chain, and for other
purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 15, 2024
Mr. Hunt submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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RESOLUTION
Calling upon the International Seabed Authority to adopt regulations
allowing the collection of critical minerals from the international
seabed area, which will enable America to regain reliable and
responsible supply chains, provide high-wage jobs for United States
citizens, secure supply chains away from the People's Republic of
China's dominance of the critical mineral supply chain, and for other
purposes.
Whereas the United States acknowledges the importance that critical minerals
will have in the future;
Whereas critical minerals, along with rare-earth minerals, are the building
blocks of technology, information and communications technology, and
defense;
Whereas critical minerals are used in the construction of advanced defense
systems and clean energy technologies;
Whereas the People's Republic of China (PRC) currently dominates global mineral
production and refining, with a market share of up to 90 percent;
Whereas the PRC builds on environmental and human rights violations, including
attacks against grassroots leaders, water pollution, ecosystem
destruction, and unsafe working conditions;
Whereas, building upon previous investments with the Belt and Road Initiative,
Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship foreign policy initiative, China
has spent the past 2 decades pouring at least $170,000,000,000 into
building ports, railroads, and other massive infrastructure projects
across Africa;
Whereas, although the United States has a vast collection of minerals, excessive
regulations and Federal overreach have made it virtually impossible to
mine in America;
Whereas leases were recently canceled for the Twin Metals mine, which contains
the largest deposit of cobalt and nickel in the United States;
Whereas the processing and refining of critical minerals in the United States
will require access to sufficient feedstocks and a regulatory landscape
that does not involve insurmountable roadblocks;
Whereas the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has estimated that the Clarion-
Clipperton Zone (CCZ), in the international seabed area of the Pacific
Ocean, contains 21,000,000,000 tons of polymetallic nodules;
Whereas the CCZ is estimated to contain more manganese, nickel, and cobalt than
the entire global terrestrial reserve base for those minerals, combined;
Whereas the CCZ is a 48,000,000,000,000 square feet area in the Pacific Ocean
between Hawaii and Mexico;
Whereas, because the CCZ is located in the international seabed area, the ISA, a
United Nations organization, manages and regulates these ocean floor
minerals;
Whereas the ISA is an autonomous international organization established under
the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);
Whereas the ISA is an organization through which only signatories to UNCLOS
organize and control all mineral resources-related activities in the
international seabed area, which covers approximately 54 percent of the
total area of the world's oceans;
Whereas the European Union and 168 nations are members of the ISA, including
China and Russia;
Whereas the United States is not a member of the ISA but could obtain access to
minerals located in the CCZ through partnerships with ISA contractors
based in allied countries that are aligned with United States interests;
Whereas the ISA is currently deliberating on rules to govern the collection of
polymetallic nodules, and only ISA members have a vote on these
regulations;
Whereas the ISA has issued 19 current exploration contracts for polymetallic
nodules, including 3 sponsored by the PRC for Chinese entities, 2 of
which sit in the CCZ, the area of most economic interest;
Whereas the United States must not let this imminent economic opportunity be
ceded to China because of our unwillingness to act; and
Whereas the United States needs the innovation and ingenuity that made this
country great more than ever: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes that diverse and resilient energy and
mineral supply chains are vital for the United States, our
partners, and allies, and for global economic stability;
(2) affirms that the International Seabed Authority should
adopt the regulations by 2025 in order to avoid delays to a
critical industry; and
(3) affirms that it is in the national interest of the
United States to provide a regulatory environment that supports
the domestic processing and refining of critical minerals,
including polymetallic nodules located in the Clarion-
Clipperton Zone.
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