[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).
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