[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2638-S2639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 496. Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Young, and Mr. 
Padilla) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 
bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 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 division A, add the following:

     TITLE XVIII--CRITICAL MINERAL AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT RESOURCES

     SEC. 1801. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Covered nation.--The term ``covered nation'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 4872 of title 10, United 
     States Code.
       (2) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has 
     the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of the Energy 
     Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
       (3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term ``foreign entity 
     of concern'' has the meaning given that term in section 40207 
     of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 
     18741)
       (4) Rare earth elements.--The term ``rare earth elements'' 
     means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, 
     holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, 
     promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, 
     and yttrium.
       (5) United states person.--The term ``United States 
     person'' means--
       (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted 
     for permanent residence to the United States; or
       (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States 
     or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a 
     foreign branch of such an entity.

     SEC. 1802. REPORTS ON CRITICAL MINERAL AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT 
                   RESOURCES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
     Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of 
     relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report 
     on all critical mineral and rare earth element resources 
     around the world that includes--
       (1) an assessment of--
       (A) which of such resources are under the control of a 
     foreign entity of concern, including through ownership, 
     contract, or economic or political influence;
       (B) which of such resources are owned by, controlled by, or 
     subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the United States 
     or a country that is an ally or partner of the United States;
       (C) which of such resources are not owned by, controlled 
     by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign 
     entity of concern or a country described in subparagraph (B); 
     and
       (D) in the case of such resources not undergoing commercial 
     mining, the reasons for the lack of commercial mining;
       (2) for each mine from which significant quantities of 
     critical minerals or rare earth elements are being extracted, 
     as of the date that is one year before the date of the 
     report--
       (A) an estimate of the annual volume of output of the mine 
     as of that date;
       (B) an estimate of the total volume of mineral or elements 
     that remain in the mine as of that date;
       (C)(i) an identification of the country and entity 
     operating the mine; or
       (ii) if the mine is operated by more than one country or 
     entity, an estimate of the output of each mineral or element 
     from the mine to which each such country or entity has 
     access; and
       (D) an identification of the ultimate beneficial owners of 
     the mine and the percentage of ownership held by each such 
     owner;
       (3) for each mine not described in paragraph (2), to the 
     extent practicable--
       (A) an estimate of the aggregate annual volume of output of 
     the mines as of the date that is one year before the date of 
     the report;
       (B) an estimate of the aggregate total volume of mineral or 
     elements that remain in the mines as of that date;
       (C) an estimate of the aggregate total output of each 
     mineral or element from the mine to which a foreign entity of 
     concern has access;
       (4)(A) a list of key foreign entities of concern involved 
     in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements;
       (B) a list of key entities in the United States and 
     countries that are allies or partners of the United States 
     involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements; 
     and
       (C) an assessment of the technical feasibility of entities 
     listed under subparagraphs (A) and (B) mining and processing 
     resources identified under paragraph (1)(C) using existing 
     advanced technology;
       (5) an assessment, prepared in consultation with the 
     Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with countries in 
     which mines or mineral processing operations are located that 
     are operated by other countries, or are operated by entities 
     from other countries, to ensure ongoing access by the United 
     States and countries that are allies and partners of the 
     United States to those mines and processing operations;
       (6) a list, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Commerce, identifying, to the maximum extent practicable, all 
     cases in which entities were forced to divest stock in mining 
     or processing operations for critical minerals and rare earth 
     elements based on--
       (A) regulatory rulings of the government of a covered 
     nation;
       (B) joint regulatory rulings of such a government and the 
     government of another country; or
       (C) rulings of a relevant tribunal or other entity 
     authorized to render binding decisions on divestiture;
       (7) a list of all cases in which the government of a 
     covered nation purchased an entity that was forced to divest 
     stock as described in paragraph (6); and
       (8) a list of all cases in which mining or processing 
     operations for critical minerals and rare earth elements that 
     were not subject to a ruling described in paragraph (6) were 
     taken over by--
       (A) the government of a covered nation; or
       (B) an entity located in, or influenced or controlled by, 
     such a government.
       (b) Form of Report.--Each report required by subsection (a) 
     shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
     classified annex if necessary.

     SEC. 1803. PROCESS FOR NOTIFYING UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OF 
                   DIVESTMENT.

       Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of

[[Page S2639]]

     the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 
     shall establish a process under which--
       (1) a United States person seeking to divest stock in 
     mining or mineral processing operations for critical minerals 
     and rare earth elements in a foreign country may notify the 
     Secretary of the intention of the person to divest such 
     stock; and
       (2) the Secretary may provide assistance to the person to 
     find a purchaser that is not under the control of the 
     government of a covered nation.

     SEC. 1804. STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED MINING, 
                   REFINING, SEPARATION, AND PROCESSING 
                   TECHNOLOGIES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in 
     consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, 
     shall develop--
       (1) a strategy to collaborate with the governments of 
     countries that are allies and partners of the United States 
     to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, and 
     processing technologies; and
       (2) a method for sharing the intellectual property 
     resulting from the development of such technologies with 
     those countries to enable those countries to license such 
     technologies and mine, refine, separate, and process the 
     resources of such countries.
       (b) Reports Required.--Not later than one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
     the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
     progress made in developing the strategy and method described 
     in subsection (a).
                                 ______