[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4661. Mr. COTTON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to
the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title XIV, add the following:
Subtitle D--Extraction and Processing of Defense Minerals in the United
States
SEC. 1431. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Restoring Essential
Energy and Security Holdings Onshore for Rare Earths and
Critical Minerals Act of 2021'' or the ``REEShore Critical
Minerals Act of 2021''.
SEC. 1432. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of
the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Natural Resources, the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
(2) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has
the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of the Energy
Act of 2020 (division Z of Public Law 116-260; 30 U.S.C.
1606(a)).
(3) Defense mineral product.--The term ``defense mineral
product'' means any product--
(A) formed or comprised of, or manufactured from, one or
more critical minerals; and
(B) used in critical military defense technologies or other
related applications of the Department of Defense.
(4) Processed or refined.--The term ``processed or
refined'' means any process by which a defense mineral is
extracted, separated, or otherwise manipulated to render the
mineral usable for manufacturing a defense mineral product.
SEC. 1433. REPORT ON STRATEGIC CRITICAL MINERAL AND DEFENSE
MINERAL PRODUCTS RESERVE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that the storage of
substantial quantities of critical minerals and defense
mineral products will--
(1) diminish the vulnerability of the United States to the
effects of a severe supply chain interruption; and
(2) provide limited protection from the short-term
consequences of an interruption in supplies of defense
mineral products.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that,
in procuring critical minerals and defense mineral products,
the Secretary of Defense should prioritize procurement of
critical minerals and defense mineral products from sources
in the United States, including that are mined, produced,
separated, and manufactured within the United States.
(c) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the United States Geologic Survey, and the
Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Director of the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Director of National
Intelligence, shall jointly submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report--
(A) describing the existing authorities and funding levels
of the Federal Government to stockpile critical minerals and
defense mineral products;
(B) assessing whether those authorities and funding levels
are sufficient to meet the requirements of the United States;
and
(C) including recommendations to diminish the vulnerability
of the United States to disruptions in the supply chains for
critical minerals and defense mineral products through
changes to policy, procurement regulation, or existing law,
including any additional statutory authorities that may be
needed.
(2) Considerations.--In developing the report required by
paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary
of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Director of the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Director of National
Intelligence shall take into consideration the needs of the
Armed Forces of the United States, the intelligence community
(as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))), the defense industrial and
technology sectors, and any places, organizations, physical
infrastructure, or digital infrastructure designated as
critical to the national security of the United States.
SEC. 1434. REPORT ON DISCLOSURES CONCERNING CRITICAL MINERALS
BY CONTRACTORS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than December 31, 2022, the
Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretary
of Commerce, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the
Interior, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that includes--
(1) a review of the existing disclosure requirements with
respect to the provenance of magnets used within defense
mineral products;
(2) a review of the feasibility of imposing a requirement
that any contractor of the Department of Defense provide a
disclosure with respect to any system with a defense mineral
product that is a permanent magnet, including an
identification of the country or countries in which--
(A) the critical minerals used in the magnet were mined;
(B) the critical minerals were refined into oxides;
(C) the critical minerals were made into metals and alloys;
and
(D) the magnet was sintered or bonded and magnetized; and
(3) recommendations to Congress for implementing such a
requirement, including methods to ensure that any tracking or
provenance system is independently verifiable.
SEC. 1435. REPORT ON PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF DEFENSE
MATERIALS FROM NON-ALLIED FOREIGN NATIONS.
The Secretary of Defense shall study and submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the
potential impacts of imposing a restriction that, for any
contract entered into or renewed on or after December 31,
2026, for the procurement of a system the export of which is
restricted or controlled under the Arms Export Control Act
(22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), no critical minerals processed or
refined in the People's Republic of China may be included in
the system.
SEC. 1436. PRODUCTION IN AND USES OF CRITICAL MINERALS BY
UNITED STATES ALLIES.
(a) Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United States to
encourage countries that are allies of the United States to
eliminate their dependence on non-allied countries for
critical minerals to the maximum extent practicable.
(b) Report Required.--Not later than December 31, 2022, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report--
(1) describing in detail the discussions of such
Secretaries with countries that are allies of the United
States concerning supply chain security for critical
minerals;
(2) assessing the likelihood of those countries
discontinuing the use of critical minerals from foreign
entities of concern (as defined in section 9901(6) of the
William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651(6))) or countries
that such Secretaries deem to be of concern; and
(3) assessing initiatives in other countries to increase
critical mineral mining and production capabilities.
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