[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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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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