[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 162 (Thursday, October 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S6919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3922. Mr. HEINRICH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 3748 proposed by Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Reed) 
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 appropriate place in title I, insert the following:

     SEC. 1__. MULTIYEAR PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY FOR ULTRA-HIGH-
                   PURITY NUCLEAR-GRADE GRAPHITE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Executive Order 13953 (30 U.S.C. 1601 note) of 
     President Donald J. Trump determined that--
       (A) ``our Nation's undue reliance on critical minerals, in 
     processed or unprocessed form, from foreign adversaries 
     constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat'' that is a 
     ``national emergency'';
       (B) ``the United States is 100 percent reliant on imports 
     for graphite''; and
       (C) ``China produces . . . almost all of the world's . . . 
     high-purity graphite''.
       (2) There are no domestic or allied sources of ultra-high-
     purity nuclear-grade graphite.
       (b) Authority for Multiyear Procurement.--Subject to 
     section 3501 of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary 
     of Defense shall enter into one or more multiyear contracts 
     for the procurement of 1,500 metric tonnes of ultra-high-
     purity nuclear-grade graphite per year over the covered 
     period, from the sole known source of such graphite in North 
     America, in the amount of $60,000,000 per year.
       (c) Authority for Advance Procurement.--The Secretary of 
     Defense shall enter into one or more contracts, beginning in 
     fiscal year 2026, for advance procurement associated with 
     ultra-high-purity nuclear-grade graphite for which 
     authorization to enter into a multiyear procurement contract 
     is provided under subsection (b), in economic order 
     quantities consistent with this section.
       (d) Condition for Out-year Contract Payments.--A contract 
     entered into under subsection (b) shall provide that any 
     obligation of the United States to make a payment under the 
     contract for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2026 is subject 
     to the availability of appropriations or funds for that 
     purpose for such later fiscal year.
       (e) Funding.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by 
     this Act for purchases of strategic and critical materials 
     under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et 
     seq.) is hereby increased by $60,000,000, with the amount of 
     the increase to be used for the procurement of 1,500 metric 
     tonnes of ultra-high-purity nuclear-grade graphite.
       (f) Covered Period Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``covered period'' means the period--
       (1) beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
       (2) ending on the date that is, at minimum, 17 years after 
     such date of enactment, and, at maximum, 50 years after such 
     date of enactment.

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