[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6456. Mr. HICKENLOOPER 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 E of title X, insert the following:

     SEC. 1050. REPORT ON CRITICAL DEFENSE MINERAL REQUIREMENTS 
                   AND MUNITIONS SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCY.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in 
     coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for 
     Acquisition and Sustainment, the Director of the Defense 
     Logistics Agency Strategic Materials, and the Director of the 
     United States Geological Survey, shall submit to the 
     congressional defense committees a report assessing critical 
     defense mineral requirements, stockpile alignment, and supply 
     chain vulnerabilities for munitions production.
       (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     include the following:
       (1) An assessment of the critical minerals and materials 
     required--
       (A) to replenish munitions expended in operations of the 
     United States Central Command since February 2026 to pre-
     conflict inventory levels;
       (B) to achieve munitions inventory objectives across a 
     range of contingency scenarios for the Indo-Pacific region of 
     varying duration and intensity, reported as a demand range 
     rather than a single estimate; and
       (C) to estimate the duration for which stockpile holdings 
     and supply arrangements as of the date of the enactment of 
     this Act can sustain munitions production at required rates 
     before surge production in the United States or allies of the 
     United States is required to provide replacement supply.
       (2) For each critical mineral identified under paragraph 
     (1), a comprehensive mapping of sole-source and near-sole-
     source chokepoints, and chokepoints controlled by the 
     People's Republic of China or other adversaries of the United 
     States, across extraction, processing, refining, fabrication, 
     and component manufacturing stages, assessed by mineral and 
     by munition system.
       (3) An analysis of the alignment of the composition of the 
     National Defense Stockpile with the mineral requirements 
     identified under paragraph (1), including--
       (A) critical minerals for which no stockpile holding exists 
     as of the date of the enactment of this Act;
       (B) whether stockpiled minerals are held in forms and 
     grades usable by the munitions industrial base without 
     intermediate processing that reintroduces foreign dependency; 
     and
       (C) critical defense mineral requirements associated with 
     munitions programs of record in development or early 
     production that are not captured in the assessment under 
     paragraph (1).
       (4) A munition-to-materials crosswalk for munitions and 
     interceptors, detailing the critical defense minerals, 
     energetics, materials, and industrial inputs required for 
     production, including identification of the principal drivers 
     of replenishment risk.
       (5) A prioritized assessment of the 10 most significant 
     mineral, material, component, industrial, or processing 
     bottlenecks limiting munitions replenishment and inventory 
     reconstitution.
       (6) Recommendations for addressing the vulnerabilities 
     identified under paragraphs (1) through (5), including--
       (A) stockpile acquisition priorities and any additional 
     legislative authorities or appropriations required to close 
     identified gaps;
       (B) agreements with countries that are allies or partners 
     of the United States necessary to establish assured supply 
     arrangements for minerals and materials subject to adversary-
     controlled chokepoints; and
       (C) a plan for establishing a standing analytic capability 
     within the Department of Defense--
       (i) to translate operational munitions expenditure into 
     critical defense mineral demand requirements; and
       (ii) to integrate critical mineral supply chain assessments 
     into munitions acquisition milestone decisions, inventory 
     management, and force-planning decisions.
       (c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified 
     annex.
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