[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5055-S5056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3222. Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Young, and Mr.
Hickenlooper) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to
the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 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 subtitle F of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1067. REPORTS ON CRITICAL MINERAL AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT
RESOURCES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered nation.--The term ``covered nation'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4872(d) of title 10, United
States Code.
(2) 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)).
(3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term ``foreign entity
of concern'' has the meaning given the term in section
40207(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42
U.S.C. 18741(a)).
(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) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior
(6) 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.
(b) Reports on Critical Mineral and Rare Earth Element
Resources.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and
the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to
Congress a report on all critical mineral and rare earth
element resources (including recyclable or recycled materials
containing those resources) around the world that includes--
(A) an assessment of--
(i) which of those resources are under the control of a
foreign entity of concern, including through ownership,
contract, or economic or political influence;
(ii) which of those 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;
(iii) which of those 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 clause (ii); and
(iv) in the case of those resources not undergoing
commercial mining, the reasons for the lack of commercial
mining;
(B) for each mine from which significant quantities of
critical minerals or rare earth elements are being extracted,
as of the date that is 1 year before the date of the report--
(i) an estimate of the annual volume of output of the mine
as of that date;
(ii) an estimate of the total volume of mineral or elements
that remain in the mine as of that date;
(iii)(I) an identification of the country and entity
operating the mine; or
(II) if the mine is operated by more than 1 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
(iv) an identification of the ultimate beneficial owners of
the mine and the percentage of ownership held by each such
owner;
(C) for each mine not described in subparagraph (B), to the
extent practicable--
(i) an estimate of the aggregate annual volume of output of
the mines as of the date that is 1 year before the date of
the report;
(ii) an estimate of the aggregate total volume of mineral
or elements that remain in the mines as of that date; and
(iii) an estimate of the aggregate total output of each
mineral or element from the mine to which a foreign entity of
concern has access;
(D)(i) a list of key foreign entities of concern involved
in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements;
(ii) 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
(iii) an assessment of the technical feasibility of
entities listed under clauses (i) and (ii) mining and
processing resources identified under subparagraph (A)(iii)
using existing advanced technology;
(E) an assessment, prepared in consultation with the
Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with countries in
which mines, mineral processing operations, or recycling
operations (or any combination thereof) 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 or recycling
operations;
(F) 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, processing, or recycling operations (or any
combination thereof) for critical minerals and rare earth
elements based on--
(i) regulatory rulings of the government of a covered
nation;
(ii) joint regulatory rulings of the government of a
covered nation and the government of another country; or
(iii) rulings of a relevant tribunal or other entity
authorized to render binding decisions on divestiture;
(G) 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 subparagraph (F); and
(H) a list of all cases in which mining, processing, or
recycling operations (or any combination thereof) for
critical minerals and rare earth elements that were not
subject to a ruling described in subparagraph (F) were taken
over by--
(i) the government of a covered nation; or
(ii) an entity located in, or influenced or controlled by,
the government of a covered nation.
(2) Form of report.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex, if necessary.
(c) Process for Notifying United States Government of
Divestment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of State, shall establish a process under
which--
(1) a United States person seeking to divest stock in
mining, processing, or recycling operations for critical
minerals and rare earth elements in a foreign country may
notify the Secretary of the intention of the person to divest
the stock; and
(2) the Secretary may provide assistance to the person to
find a purchaser that is not
[[Page S5056]]
under the control of the government of a covered nation.
(d) Strategy on Development of Advanced Mining, Refining,
Separation, Processing, and Recycling Technologies.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of Energy and the heads of other relevant
Federal agencies, shall develop--
(A) a strategy to collaborate with the governments of
countries that are allies and partners of the United States
to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, processing,
and recycling technologies; and
(B) a method for sharing the intellectual property
resulting from the development of advanced mining, refining,
separation, processing, and recycling technologies with the
governments of countries that are allies and partners of the
United States to enable those countries to license those
technologies and mine, refine, separate, process, and recycle
the resources of those countries.
(2) Reports required.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of 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
paragraph (1).
______