[House Report 119-692]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 119-692
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CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCY ACT OF 2026
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June 9, 2026.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 5929]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5929) to adjust the treatment of certain actions
under Presidential Determination 2022-11 for Federal permitting
improvement, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Minerals Supply Chain
Resiliency Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF ACTIONS UNDER PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION 2022-11
FOR FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT PURPOSES.
(a) In General.--Except as provided by subsection (c), an action
described in subsection (b) shall be--
(1) treated as a covered project, as defined in section
41001(6) of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (42
U.S.C. 4370m(6)), without regard to the requirements of that
section; and
(2) included in the Permitting Dashboard maintained pursuant
to section 41003(b) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(b)).
(b) Actions Described.--An action described in this subsection is an
action taken by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to Presidential
Determination 2022-11 (87 Fed. Reg. 19775; relating to certain actions
under section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950) to create,
maintain, protect, expand, or restore sustainable and responsible
domestic production capabilities for strategic and critical materials
through--
(1) supporting feasibility studies for mature mining,
beneficiation, and value-added processing projects;
(2) by-product and co-product production at existing mining,
mine waste reclamation, and other industrial facilities;
(3) modernization of mining, beneficiation, and value-added
processing to increase productivity, environmental
sustainability, and workforce safety; or
(4) any other activity authorized under section 303(a)(1) of
the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(1)).
(c) Exception.--An action described in subsection (b) may not be
treated as a covered project or be included in the Permitting Dashboard
under subsection (a) if the project sponsor (as defined in section
41001(18) of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (42 U.S.C.
4370m(18))) requests that the action not be treated as a covered
project.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 5929 is to adjust the treatment of
certain actions under Presidential Determination 2022-11 for
Federal permitting improvement, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Defense Production Act of 1950 authorizes the Secretary
of War to take specific steps to ``create, maintain, protect,
expand, or restore domestic industrial base capabilities
essential for the national defense.''\1\ From raw minerals to
manufactured products, the U.S. must act quickly to unleash
industrial independence; without rapid progress, the country
will permanently fall behind adversarial nations like China.
Overly cumbersome and bureaucratic permitting processes are
keeping the Secretary of War from strategically leveraging the
authority that has already been granted under the Defense
Production Act of 1950, needlessly slowing down key
reindustrialization efforts.
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\1\50 U.S.C. Sec. 4533(a)(1).
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To meet America's strategic and industrial needs, the
Secretary of War's efforts under the Defense Production Act of
1950 must be made eligible for the FAST-41 streamlined
permitting processes. Doing so will help ensure that our
country maintains the industrial capabilities essential to
national security and economic prosperity.
H.R. 5929, introduced by Representative Andy Barr (R-KY),
adds the actions authorized under the Defense Production Act of
1950 to the list of covered projects eligible for the FAST-41
expedited permitting process. For example, H.R. 5929 would
ensure that the FAST-41 program encompasses Secretary of War-
directed feasibility studies for mineral processing projects,
by-product and co-product recovery from existing mines and mine
waste, as well as initiatives focused on modernization,
workforce safety, and environmental sustainability. This bill
aligns with President Trump's agenda by codifying portions of
Executive Order 14241, Immediate Measures to Increase American
Mineral Production.\2\
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\2\The White House, ``Immediate Measures to Increase American
Mineral Production,'' March 20, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
presidential-actions/2025/03/immediate-measures-to-increase-american-
mineral-production/.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5929 was introduced on November 7, 2025, by
Representative Andy Barr (R-KY). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On February 24,
2026, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a
hearing on the bill. On April 21, 2026, the Committee on
Natural Resources met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources was discharged from further
consideration of H.R. 5929 by unanimous consent. Chairman Bruce
Westerman (R-AR) offered an Amendment in the Nature of a
Substitute designated Westerman_067 ANS. The Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute was agreed to by voice vote.
Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment to
the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute designated Grijalva
#1. The amendment was not agreed to by a roll call vote of 16
yeas to 21 nays, as follows:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by voice vote.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
held on April 21, 2026.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 names the bill the ``Critical Minerals Supply
Chain Resiliency Act of 2026''.
Section 2. Treatment of actions under Presidential Determination 2022-
11 for Federal permitting improvement purposes
Section 2 ensures that actions taken by the Secretary of
War authorized by Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of
1950 are treated as covered projects and included on the FAST-
41 Permitting Dashboard.
Section 2 also allows project sponsors to request that
their projects not be treated as covered projects or included
on the Permitting Dashboard.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
As required by clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general
performance goal or objective of this bill is to adjust the
treatment of certain actions under Presidential Determination
2022-11 for Federal permitting improvement, and for other
purposes.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY,
AND TAX EXPENDITURES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its
own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement
authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of House rule XIII, the
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of the Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 5929 would make no changes in existing law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 5929 would require all actions taken by the
administration under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to expand
domestic production capabilities for strategic and critical
minerals to be automatically treated as ``covered projects''
eligible for the expedited FAST-41 permitting process, unless
the project sponsor requests otherwise.
The DPA is intended to fund projects important to national
security, but this administration seems to be defining
``national security'' as whatever its industry allies want,
whether it's to complete construction of President Trump's
ballroom, to try and shut down offshore wind, or waive
Endangered Species Act requirements for Big Oil in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Unfortunately, this legislation is not a simple question of
aligning federal permitting practices with federal investment
priorities for national security. Over the last several years,
and increasingly during the Trump administration, the DPA has
been used to direct substantial investments towards mining
projects purported to produce minerals essential for defense
and military purposes.
Among other investments, the Trump administration has used
the DPA to fund equity stakes in several mining companies after
waiving independent financial disclosure requirements--several
of which have ties to friends and family of high-ranking
administration officials, who have been able to profit
substantially off these announcements. Notably, the
administration announced a deal for the company Trilogy Metals
while simultaneously fast-tracking permitting for the
controversial Ambler Road project, which is needed to develop
Trilogy's proposed mine. At the time of the announcement, John
Alfred Paulson, a close ally of President Trump, was the
fourth-largest shareholder in Trilogy; the value of his shares
increased from $30 million to $100 million overnight. In the
following months, Paulson sold all shares in the Trilogy.
While I am concerned about the abuses of the DPA, I do
recognize that the legislation, through the FAST-41 process,
would provide more transparency and opportunities for public
input than the administration is currently providing for DPA-
funded projects under its ``emergency'' procedures invoked
pursuant to the so-called National Energy Emergency.
Jared Huffman,
Ranking Member.
[all]