[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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