[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8450 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8450

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate certain minerals 
                 for designation as critical minerals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2024

  Mrs. Cammack (for herself and Ms. Slotkin) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate certain minerals 
                 for designation as critical minerals.

    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 ``Phosphate and Potash Protection Act 
of 2024''.

SEC. 2. EVALUATION OF CERTAIN MINERALS FOR DESIGNATION AS CRITICAL 
              MINERALS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, shall evaluate potash, phosphates, and other 
minerals necessary for the production of fertilizer and other 
agricultural products used to promote crop development for designation 
as critical minerals under section 7002(c)(4) of the Energy Act of 2020 
(30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(4)).
    (b) Recommendations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, shall--
            (1) evaluate policies in place as of the date of the 
        enactment of this section related to the permitting and leasing 
        of projects for the exploration, development, and production of 
        the minerals described in subsection (a); and
            (2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
        recommendations to support the domestic production of such 
        minerals.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report regarding the evaluation carried out under subsection (a), 
including a description of how each mineral described in subsection (a) 
does or does not meet each requirement of the designation methodology 
to determine the eligibility of each such mineral for inclusion on the 
critical minerals list.
    (d) Designation.--If, pursuant to the evaluation carried out under 
subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture, determines that a mineral described in subsection (a) 
meets each requirement of the designation methodology, the Secretary, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and not later than 60 
days after the date on which the report required under subsection (c) 
is submitted, shall designate such mineral as a critical mineral under 
section 7002(c)(4) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(4)) and 
update the critical minerals list accordingly.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Natural Resources and the 
                Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                Forestry of the Senate.
            (2) 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)).
            (3) Critical minerals list.--The term ``critical minerals 
        list'' means the list of critical minerals published under 
        section 7002(c)(3) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 
        1606(c)(3)).
            (4) Designation methodology.--The term ``designation 
        methodology'' means the methodology published under section 
        7002(c)(3) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(3)) as 
        of the date of the enactment of this section.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
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