[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6298. Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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 G of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1___. FINDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESOURCE EXPLORATION.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the United States should prioritize, to the greatest extent
practicable, the onshoring of critical mineral processing.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Allied foreign country.--The term ``allied foreign
country'' means a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization or a country that has been designated as a major
non-NATO ally under section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321k).
(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) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(4) Partner foreign country.--The term ``partner foreign
country'' means a country that is a source of a critical
mineral or rare earth element.
(5) Rare earth element.--The term ``rare earth element''
means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium,
holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium,
promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium,
or yttrium.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of State.
(c) Agreements With Respect to the Mapping of Critical
Minerals and Rare Earth Elements.--
(1) Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into agreements
with 1 or more partner foreign countries with respect to
scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping of
critical minerals and rare earth elements.
(2) Objectives.--In negotiating an agreement under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek to increase the
security and resilience of international supply chains, to
the maximum extent practicable, for critical minerals and
rare earth elements by--
(A) committing to assisting the partner foreign country
through cooperative activities described in paragraph (4)
that help the partner foreign country map reserves of
critical minerals and rare earth elements;
(B) ensuring that private companies headquartered in the
United States or an allied foreign country are offered the
right of first refusal in the further development of critical
minerals and rare earth elements in the partner foreign
country that were discovered or better characterized as a
result of the cooperative activities described in paragraph
(4); and
(C) ensuring that mapping data created through the
cooperative activities described in paragraph (4) is
protected against unauthorized access by, or disclosure to,
governmental or other entities based in countries that are
not--
(i) a party to the agreement; or
(ii) an allied foreign country.
(3) Implementation.--In implementing an agreement under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
(A) partner with companies in the United States to carry
out the cooperative activities described in paragraph (4);
(B) facilitate private sector investment in the
exploration and development of critical minerals and rare
earth elements; and
(C) refrain from activities that would materially delay
ongoing domestic mapping activities with respect to critical
mineral or rare earth elements in the United States.
(4) Cooperative activities.--The cooperative activities
referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) include--
(A) acquisition, compilation, analysis, and
interpretation of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and
spectroscopic remote sensing data;
(B) prospectivity mapping and mineral resource
assessment;
(C) analysis of geoscience data, including developing
derivative map products that can help more effectively
evaluate the mineral resources of the partner foreign
country;
(D) scientific collaboration to enhance the understanding
and management of the natural resources of the partner
foreign country to contribute to the sustainable development
of the mineral resources sector of that partner foreign
country;
(E) training and capacity building in each area described
in subparagraphs (A) through (D);
(F) facilitation of education and specialized training in
geoscience and mineral resource management at institutions of
higher education;
(G) training in relevant international standards for
relevant officials of the government and private companies of
the partner foreign country; and
(H) cooperation among entities of the partner foreign
country that are a party to the agreement and entities in the
United States, including Federal departments and agencies,
institutions of higher education, research centers, and
private companies.
(5) Notification and report to congress.--
(A) Definition of appropriate committees of congress.--In
this paragraph, the term ``appropriate committees of
Congress'' means--
(i) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources,
Foreign Relations, and Appropriations of the Senate; and
(ii) the Committees on Natural Resources, Foreign
Affairs, and Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(B) Notification and report.--Not later than 30 days
before the Secretary intends to enter into an agreement under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
(i) notify the appropriate committees of Congress; and
(ii) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report detailing the implementing partners, scope of the
agreement, activities to be undertaken, estimated costs, and
source of funding.
(6) Consultation with private sector.--The Secretary
shall consult with relevant private sector actors, as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, in--
(A) prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries
with which to enter into an agreement under paragraph (1);
and
(B) assessing how an agreement can best facilitate
private sector interest in pursuing the further development
of critical minerals and rare earth elements in accordance
with the objectives described in paragraph (2).
______