[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6370. Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. Warner, 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___. REPORT 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(f) 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) Report on Critical Mineral and Rare Earth Element
Resources.--
(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 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,
based on publicly available and government-sourced
information, strategically significant 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 strategically significant cases in which the
government of a covered nation purchased an entity that was
forced to divest stock as described in subparagraph (F);
(H) a list of strategically significant 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; and
(I) an assessment of any significant data gaps or
uncertainties in the information required under subparagraphs
(F) through (H).
(2) Form of report.--The report required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex, if necessary.
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