[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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