[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 211 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5884-H5885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
APPLICATION OF MINERAL LEASING ACT FOR ACQUIRED LANDS TO HARDROCK
MINERALS
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3872) to amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to
make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3872
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. APPLICATION OF MINERAL LEASING ACT FOR ACQUIRED
LANDS TO HARDROCK MINERALS.
The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351
et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 2 (30 U.S.C. 351)--
(A) by striking ``Act `United States' '' and inserting the
following: ``Act:
``(1) United states.--The term `United States' '';
(B) by striking ``Alaska. `Acquired lands' '' and inserting
the following: ``Alaska.
``(2) Acquired lands; lands acquired by the united
states.--The term `acquired lands' '';
(C) by striking ``552). `Secretary' '' and inserting the
following: ``552).
``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' '';
(D) by striking ``Interior. `Mineral leasing laws' shall
mean'' and inserting the following: ``Interior.
``(4) Mineral leasing laws.--The term `mineral leasing
laws' means'';
(E) by striking ``Acts. `Lease' '' and inserting the
following: ``Acts.
``(5) Lease.--The term `lease' '';
(F) by striking ``requires. The term'' and inserting the
following: ``requires.
``(6) Oil.--The term''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Hardrock mineral.--The term `hardrock mineral'--
``(A) includes deposits of--
``(i) minerals found in sedimentary or other rocks;
``(ii) base metals;
``(iii) precious metals;
``(iv) industrial minerals; and
``(v) precious and semi-precious gemstones; and
``(B) does not include deposits of--
``(i) coal;
``(ii) oil;
``(iii) oil shale;
``(iv) gas;
``(v) sodium;
``(vi) potassium;
``(vii) sulfur; or
``(viii) mineral materials subject to disposition under the
Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the Materials Act of
1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).''; and
(2) in section 3 (30 U.S.C. 352), by striking ``and
sulfur'' and inserting ``sulfur, and hardrock minerals''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Stauber) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr.
Hernandez) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
General Leave
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 3872, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H5885]]
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3872, which would amend
the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, clarifying that all lands
acquired by the Federal Government are eligible to be considered for
hardrock mineral leasing.
I thank my colleague Representative Fallon for his work on the
bipartisan piece of legislation.
Acquired lands comprise 10 percent of the Nation's Federal lands, or
64 million acres. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands governs
mineral leasing for a wide range of resources on these lands. However,
the existing statute leaves out hardrock minerals. As a result,
acquired Federal lands holding key critical minerals have effectively
been locked up. This includes vast deposits in the Smackover Formation,
which spans across the southeastern United States and hosts some of
America's best lithium reserves.
Specifically, in northeast Texas, the Bureau of Land Management is
currently unable to even consider hardrock mineral leasing for a
lithium-rich portion of the Smackover Formation because it is located
on land acquired by the Federal Government more than 80 years ago under
a statute that does not explicitly allow hardrock mineral leasing.
H.R. 3872 would address this issue by providing a much-needed
technical fix to the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, giving the
Secretary of the Interior the authority to tap into our vast mineral
wealth across all types of acquired lands.
As we seek to reshore our mineral supply chains, we must ensure that
no stone gets left unturned. By allowing greater access to tens of
millions of acres of acquired lands, this legislation would help to
break our reliance on adversarial nations like China.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Fallon, for his work on
this commonsense bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting
this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3872, a bill to
amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, clarifying that all
lands acquired by the Federal Government are eligible for potential
hardrock mineral leasing.
Most mining on Federal lands operates under a claims system, where
U.S. citizens or U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies can claim
certain open areas of public land for their mineral rights. On most
acquired lands, which are lands obtained through means other than the
original public lands laws, like through a purchase or exchange,
hardrock mineral rights are leased, similar to procedures for oil, gas,
and coal. However, if the statute used to acquire that land doesn't
explicitly authorize hardrock mineral leasing, then mineral leasing
can't take place.
This is the case with the Department of Defense lands in Texas,
specifically the Red River Army Depot, which was acquired under various
statutes that did not specifically authorize hardrock leasing.
A lithium exploration company applied for a permit to explore at the
Army Depot, but the Bureau of Land Management did not have the power
the authorize exploration.
The company already has industrial leases on adjacent private lands,
and this bill would not grant any specific permits but would give BLM
the authority to issue permits and leases if appropriate.
This is a good bill. It is a technical fix that will help us
potentially develop lithium resources which are essential for the clean
energy transition.
I will add that this bill authorizes hardrock leasing, which is a far
better and more responsible practice than the claims staking system we
have across the rest of our Federal lands.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Fallon), who is the lead sponsor of this bill.
Mr. FALLON. Mr. Speaker, if critical minerals like lithium are
essential to our military and to our national security, if that is the
case, then why are we still relying on our number one global adversary
to supply them?
China is mining about 18 percent of all the lithium in the world.
With the United States, that percentage is less than 1. As far as
refining, China is about 67 percent, some estimates up to 80 percent,
where the United States is at 2 percent.
For years now, the United States has been overly reliant on the
communists in Beijing. It is in America's best national security
interest to maintain deterrence against the CCP, not only in the Indo-
Pacific, but especially here at home in our supply chains and critical
industries. This is why I first introduced H.R. 3872, the MERICA Act,
which would allow for the expanded extraction of critical minerals on
Federal lands.
{time} 1710
In fact, we already have some of these critical minerals in
abundance. A portion of the district I am privileged to represent falls
within what is known as the Smackover Formation, a geological formation
that encompasses areas from east Texas all the way to the Florida
panhandle.
Thanks to a recent U.S. Geological Survey-led study, we know there
are an estimated 5 to 19 million tons of lithium reserves in the
Smackover Formation, and it is ready for extraction.
Lithium is essential for military and defense applications. It
includes batteries and power systems used in unmanned aerial systems,
such as the ones planning to be assembled under the Army's SkyFoundry
Initiative, which is also absolutely critical for our Nation's future
defense.
Under current law, these valuable lithium deposits are locked up on
Federal lands, preventing their usage. The MERICA Act would amend the
Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands by adding hardrock minerals as
part of the listed deposits subject to leasing so that all federally
acquired lands can be considered for hardrock mineral leasing.
The MERICA Act would also give the Secretary of the Interior the
authority to follow through on President Trump's executive order by
ramping up mineral extraction and production on our own Federal lands.
We can't continue to play into the hands of Beijing by granting them
de facto control of the global lithium supply chain--it makes
absolutely no sense--whether through domestic mines or ones they have
gained through other means, such as the Belt and Road Initiative.
The demand for lithium will only continue to increase as the days go
by. We must bolster our national capabilities and work to address the
ever-growing burden on our Nation's power grid. By passing the MERICA
Act, we would take the commonsense step to utilize Federal lands to
their full and utmost potential.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues very much for their consideration.
For the sake of America's security, I urge all of my colleagues in this
august Chamber to support H.R. 3872.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this is a great bill that would provide a much-needed
technical fix to the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands. I again
thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon) for his work on this
bipartisan piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3872, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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