[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6184-S6185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS TASK FORCE ACT

  Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 196, S. 1871.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1871) to create intergovernmental coordination 
     between State, local, Tribal, and territorial jurisdictions, 
     and the Federal Government to combat United States reliance 
     on the People's Republic of China and other covered countries 
     for critical minerals and rare earth metals, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs with an amendment to strike all after the enacting 
clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Intergovernmental Critical 
     Minerals Task Force Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, 
     Environment and Public Works, Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation, and Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Natural 
     Resources, Armed Services, and Foreign Affairs of the House 
     of Representatives.
       (2) Covered country.--The term ``covered country'' means--
       (A) a covered nation (as defined in section 4872(d) of 
     title 10, United States Code); and
       (B) any other country determined by the task force to be a 
     geostrategic competitor or adversary of the United States 
     with respect to critical minerals.
       (3) 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)).
       (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office of Management and Budget.
       (5) Task force.--The term ``task force'' means the task 
     force established under section 4(b).

     SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) current supply chains of critical minerals pose a great 
     risk to the homeland and national security of the United 
     States;
       (2) critical minerals contribute to transportation, 
     technology, renewable energy, military equipment and 
     machinery, and other relevant entities crucial for the 
     homeland and national security of the United States;
       (3) in 2022, the United States was 100 percent import 
     reliant for 12 out of 50 critical minerals and more than 50 
     percent import reliant for an additional 31 critical mineral 
     commodities classified as ``critical'' by the United States 
     Geological Survey, and the People's Republic of China was the 
     top producing nation for 30 of those 50 critical minerals;
       (4) companies based in the People's Republic of China that 
     extract rare earth minerals around the world have received 
     hundreds of charges of human rights violations; and
       (5) on March 26, 2014, the World Trade Organization ruled 
     that the export restraints by the People's Republic of China 
     on rare earth metals violated obligations under the protocol 
     of accession to the World Trade Organization, which harmed 
     manufacturers and workers in the United States.

     SEC. 4. INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS TASK FORCE.

       (a) Purposes.--The purposes of the task force are--
       (1) to assess the reliance of the United States on the 
     People's Republic of China, and other covered countries, for 
     critical minerals, and the resulting homeland and national 
     security risks associated with that reliance, at each level 
     of the Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial 
     governments;
       (2) to make recommendations to onshore and improve the 
     domestic supply chain for critical minerals; and

[[Page S6185]]

       (3) to reduce the reliance of the United States, and 
     partners and allies of the United States, on critical mineral 
     supply chains involving covered countries.
       (b) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a task 
     force to facilitate cooperation, coordination, and mutual 
     accountability among each level of the Federal Government and 
     State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments on a 
     holistic response to the dependence on covered countries for 
     critical minerals across the United States.
       (c) Composition; Meetings.--
       (1) Appointment.--The Director, in consultation with key 
     intergovernmental, private, and public sector stakeholders, 
     shall appoint to the task force representatives with 
     expertise in critical mineral supply chains from Federal 
     agencies, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, 
     including not less than 1 representative from each of--
       (A) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
       (B) the Bureau of Land Management;
       (C) the Department of Agriculture;
       (D) the Department of Commerce;
       (E) the Department of Defense;
       (F) the Department of Energy;
       (G) the Department of Homeland Security;
       (H) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
       (I) the Department of the Interior;
       (J) the Department of Labor;
       (K) the Department of State;
       (L) the Department of Transportation;
       (M) the Environmental Protection Agency;
       (N) the General Services Administration;
       (O) the National Science Foundation;
       (P) the United States International Development Finance 
     Corporation;
       (Q) the United States Geological Survey; and
       (R) any other relevant Federal entity, as determined by the 
     Director.
       (2) Consultation.--The task force shall consult individuals 
     with expertise in critical mineral supply chains, individuals 
     from States whose communities, businesses, and industries are 
     involved in aspects of the critical mineral supply chain, 
     including mining and processing operations, and individuals 
     from a diverse and balanced cross-section of--
       (A) intergovernmental consultees, including--
       (i) State governments;
       (ii) local governments;
       (iii) Tribal governments; and
       (iv) territorial governments; and
       (B) other stakeholders, including--
       (i) academic research institutions;
       (ii) corporations;
       (iii) nonprofit organizations;
       (iv) private sector stakeholders;
       (v) trade associations;
       (vi) mining industry stakeholders; and
       (vii) labor representatives.
       (3) Chair.--The Director may serve as chair of the task 
     force, or designate a representative of the task force to 
     serve as chair.
       (4) Meetings.--
       (A) Initial meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     on which all representatives of the task force have been 
     appointed, the task force shall hold the first meeting of the 
     task force.
       (B) Frequency.--The task force shall meet not less than 
     once every 90 days.
       (d) Duties.--
       (1) In general.--The duties of the task force shall 
     include--
       (A) facilitating cooperation, coordination, and mutual 
     accountability for the Federal Government and State, local, 
     Tribal, and territorial governments to enhance data sharing 
     and transparency in the supply chains for critical minerals 
     in support of the purposes described in subsection (a);
       (B) providing recommendations with respect to--
       (i) research and development into emerging technologies 
     used to expand existing critical mineral supply chains in the 
     United States and to establish secure and reliable critical 
     mineral supply chains to the United States;
       (ii) increasing capacities for mining, processing, 
     refinement, reuse, and recycling of critical minerals in the 
     United States to facilitate the environmentally responsible 
     production of domestic resources to meet national critical 
     mineral needs, in consultation with Tribal and local 
     communities;
       (iii) identifying how statutes, regulations, and policies 
     related to the critical mineral supply chain could be 
     modified to accelerate environmentally responsible domestic 
     production of critical minerals, in consultation with Tribal 
     and local communities;
       (iv) strengthening the domestic workforce to support 
     growing critical mineral supply chains with good-paying, safe 
     jobs in the United States;
       (v) identifying alternative domestic sources to critical 
     minerals that the United States currently relies on the 
     People's Republic of China or other covered countries for 
     mining, processing, refining, and recycling, including the 
     availability, cost, and quality of those domestic 
     alternatives;
       (vi) identifying critical minerals and critical mineral 
     supply chains that the United States can onshore, at a 
     competitive availability, cost, and quality, for those 
     minerals and supply chains that the United States relies on 
     the People's Republic of China or other covered countries to 
     provide; and
       (vii) opportunities for the Federal Government and State, 
     local, Tribal, and territorial governments to mitigate risks 
     to the homeland and national security of the United States 
     with respect to supply chains for critical minerals that the 
     United States currently relies on the People's Republic of 
     China or other covered countries for mining, processing, 
     refining, and recycling;
       (C) prioritizing the recommendations in subparagraph (B), 
     taking into consideration economic costs and focusing on the 
     critical mineral supply chains with vulnerabilities posing 
     the most significant risks to the homeland and national 
     security of the United States;
       (D) establishing specific strategies, to be carried out in 
     coordination with the Secretary of State, to strengthen 
     international partnerships in furtherance of critical 
     minerals supply chain security with international allies and 
     partners, including--
       (i) countries with which the United States has a free trade 
     agreement;
       (ii) countries participating in the Indo-Pacific Economic 
     Framework for Prosperity;
       (iii) countries participating in the Quadrilateral Security 
     Dialogue;
       (iv) countries that are signatories to the Abraham Accords;
       (v) countries designated as eligible sub-Saharan Africa 
     countries under section 104 of the Africa Growth and 
     Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.); and
       (vi) other countries or multilateral partnerships the Task 
     Force determines to be appropriate; and
       (E) other duties, as determined by the Director.
       (2) Report.--The Director shall--
       (A) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report, which shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 
     may include a classified annex, that describes any findings, 
     guidelines, and recommendations created in performing the 
     duties under paragraph (1);
       (B) not later than 120 days after the date on which the 
     Director submits the report under subparagraph (A), publish 
     that report in the Federal Register and on the website of the 
     Office of Management and Budget, except that the Director 
     shall redact information from the report that the Director 
     determines could pose a risk to the homeland and national 
     security of the United States by being publicly available; 
     and
       (C) brief the appropriate committees of Congress twice per 
     year.
       (e) Sunset.--The task force shall terminate on the date 
     that is 90 days after the date on which the task force 
     completes the requirements under subsection (d)(2).
       (f) GAO Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall conduct a study examining the Federal and State 
     regulatory landscape related to improving domestic supply 
     chains for critical minerals in the United States.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
     a report that describes the results of the study under 
     paragraph (1).
  Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I further ask that the committee-reported 
substitute amendment be withdrawn; that the Peters substitute 
amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the 
bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that 
the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table 
with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was 
withdrawn.
  The amendment (No. 3288), in the nature of a substitute, was agreed 
to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The bill (S. 1871), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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