I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7807 

To create intergovernmental coordination between State, local, Tribal, and 

territorial jurisdictions, and the Federal Government to combat United 

States reliance on the People’s Republic of China and other covered 

countries for critical minerals and rare earth metals, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2024 

Mr. OBERNOLTE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To create intergovernmental coordination between State, 

local, Tribal, and territorial jurisdictions, and the Federal Government to combat United States reliance on 

the People’s Republic of China and other covered countries for critical minerals and rare earth metals, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Intergovernmental 

5 Critical Minerals Task Force Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) current supply chains of critical minerals 

4 pose a great risk to the national security of the 

5 United States; 

6 (2) critical minerals are necessary for transpor7 tation, technology, renewable energy, military equip8 ment and machinery, and other relevant sectors cru9 cial for the homeland and national security of the 

10 United States; 

11 (3) in 2022, the United States was 100 percent 

12 import reliant for 12 out of 50 critical minerals and 

13 more than 50 percent import reliant for an addi14 tional 31 critical mineral commodities classified as 

15 ‘‘critical’’ by the United States Geological Survey, 

16 and the People’s Republic of China was the top pro17 ducing nation for 30 of those 50 critical minerals; 

18 (4) as of July 2023, companies based in the 

19 People’s Republic of China that extract critical min20 erals around the world have received hundreds of 

21 charges of human rights violations; and 

22 (5) on March 26, 2014, the World Trade Orga23 nization ruled that the export restraints by the Peo24 ple’s Republic of China on rare earth metals violated 

25 obligations under the protocol of accession to the 


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1 World Trade Organization, which harmed manufac2 turers and workers in the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS TASK 

4 FORCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the National Mate6 rials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act 

7 of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(g) INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRITICAL MINERALS

10 TASK FORCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the task 

12 force established under paragraph (3)(B) are— 

13 ‘‘(A) to assess the reliance of the United 

14 States on the People’s Republic of China, and 

15 other covered countries, for critical minerals, 

16 and the resulting national security risks associ17 ated with that reliance, at each level of the Fed18 eral Government, Indian Tribes, and State, 

19 local, and territorial governments; 

20 ‘‘(B) to make recommendations to the 

21 President for the implementation of this Act 

22 with regard to critical minerals, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) the congressional declarations of 

24 policies in section 3; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) revisions to the program plan of 

2 the President and the initiatives required 

3 under this section; 

4 ‘‘(C) to make recommendations to secure 

5 United States and global supply chains for crit6 ical minerals; 

7 ‘‘(D) to make recommendations to reduce 

8 the reliance of the United States, and partners 

9 and allies of the United States, on critical min10 eral supply chains involving covered countries; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(E) to facilitate cooperation, coordination, 

13 and mutual accountability among each level of 

14 the Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and 

15 State, local, and territorial governments, on a 

16 holistic response to the dependence on covered 

17 countries for critical minerals across the United 

18 States. 

19 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

20 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON21 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of 

22 Congress’ means— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Committees on Homeland Se24 curity and Governmental Affairs, Energy 

25 and Natural Resources, Armed Services, 


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1 Environment and Public Works, Com2 merce, Science, and Transportation, Fi3 nance, and Foreign Relations of the Sen4 ate; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the Committees on Oversight and 

6 Accountability, Natural Resources, Armed 

7 Services, Ways and Means, Foreign Af8 fairs, and Energy and Commerce of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 ‘‘(B) CHAIR.—The term ‘Chair’ means a 

11 member of the Executive Office of the Presi12 dent, designated by the President pursuant to 

13 paragraph (3)(A). 

14 ‘‘(C) COVERED COUNTRY.—The term ‘cov15 ered country’ means— 

16 ‘‘(i) a covered nation (as defined in 

17 section 4872(d) of title 10, United States 

18 Code); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) any other country determined by 

20 the task force to be a geostrategic compet21 itor or adversary of the United States with 

22 respect to critical minerals. 

23 ‘‘(D) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘crit24 ical mineral’ has the meaning given the term in 


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1 section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 

2 U.S.C. 1606(a)). 

3 ‘‘(E) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian 

4 Tribe’ has the meaning given the term in sec5 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

6 Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304). 

7 ‘‘(F) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘task force’ 

8 means the task force established under para9 graph (3)(B). 

10 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

12 President shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) designate a Chair for the task force; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) acting through the Executive Office 

16 of the President, establish a task force. 

17 ‘‘(4) COMPOSITION; MEETINGS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair, in con19 sultation with key intergovernmental, private, 

20 and public sector stakeholders, shall appoint to 

21 the task force representatives with expertise in 

22 critical mineral supply chains from Federal 

23 agencies, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and 

24 territorial governments, including not less than 

25 1 representative from each of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

2 ‘‘(ii) the Bureau of Land Manage3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the Critical Minerals Sub5 committee of the National Science and 

6 Technology Council; 

7 ‘‘(iv) the Department of Agriculture; 

8 ‘‘(v) the Department of Commerce; 

9 ‘‘(vi) the Department of Defense; 

10 ‘‘(vii) the Department of Energy; 

11 ‘‘(viii) the Department of Homeland 

12 Security; 

13 ‘‘(ix) the Department of the Interior; 

14 ‘‘(x) the Department of Labor; 

15 ‘‘(xi) the Department of State; 

16 ‘‘(xii) the Department of Transpor17 tation; 

18 ‘‘(xiii) the Environmental Protection 

19 Agency; 

20 ‘‘(xiv) the Export-Import Bank of the 

21 United States; 

22 ‘‘(xv) the Forest Service; 

23 ‘‘(xvi) the General Services Adminis24 tration; 


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1 ‘‘(xvii) the National Science Founda2 tion; 

3 ‘‘(xviii) the Office of the United 

4 States Trade Representative; 

5 ‘‘(xix) the United States International 

6 Development Finance Corporation; 

7 ‘‘(xx) the United States Geological 

8 Survey; and 

9 ‘‘(xxi) any other relevant Federal enti10 ty, as determined by the Chair. 

11 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The task force 

12 shall consult individuals with expertise in crit13 ical mineral supply chains, individuals from 

14 States whose communities, businesses, and in15 dustries are involved in aspects of critical min16 eral supply chains, including mining and proc17 essing operations, and individuals from a di18 verse and balanced cross-section of— 

19 ‘‘(i) intergovernmental consultees, in20 cluding— 

21 ‘‘(I) State governments; 

22 ‘‘(II) local governments; 

23 ‘‘(III) territorial governments; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(IV) Indian Tribes; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) other stakeholders, including— 

2 ‘‘(I) academic research institu3 tions; 

4 ‘‘(II) corporations; 

5 ‘‘(III) nonprofit organizations; 

6 ‘‘(IV) private sector stakeholders; 

7 ‘‘(V) trade associations; 

8 ‘‘(VI) mining industry stake9 holders; and 

10 ‘‘(VII) labor representatives. 

11 ‘‘(C) MEETINGS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later 

13 than 90 days after the date on which all 

14 representatives of the task force have been 

15 appointed, the task force shall hold the 

16 first meeting of the task force. 

17 ‘‘(ii) FREQUENCY.—The task force 

18 shall meet not less than once every 90 

19 days. 

20 ‘‘(5) DUTIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The duties of the task 

22 force shall include— 

23 ‘‘(i) facilitating cooperation, coordina24 tion, and mutual accountability for the 

25 Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and 


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1 State, local, and territorial governments to 

2 enhance data sharing and transparency to 

3 build more robust and secure domestic 

4 supply chains for critical minerals in sup5 port of the purposes described in para6 graph (1); 

7 ‘‘(ii) providing recommendations with 

8 respect to— 

9 ‘‘(I) increasing capacities for 

10 mining, processing, refinement, reuse, 

11 and recycling of critical minerals in 

12 the United States to facilitate the en13 vironmentally responsible production 

14 of domestic resources to meet national 

15 critical mineral needs, in consultation 

16 with Tribal and local communities; 

17 ‘‘(II) identifying how statutes, 

18 regulations, and policies related to the 

19 critical mineral supply chain, such as 

20 stockpiling and development finance, 

21 could be modified to accelerate envi22 ronmentally responsible domestic and 

23 international production of critical 

24 minerals, in consultation with Indian 

25 Tribes and local communities; 


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1 ‘‘(III) strengthening the domestic 

2 workforce to support growing critical 

3 mineral supply chains with good-pay4 ing, safe jobs in the United States; 

5 ‘‘(IV) identifying alternative do6 mestic and global sources to critical 

7 minerals that the United States cur8 rently relies on the People’s Republic 

9 of China or other covered countries 

10 for mining, processing, refining, and 

11 recycling, including the availability, 

12 cost, and quality of those domestic al13 ternatives; 

14 ‘‘(V) identifying critical minerals 

15 and critical mineral supply chains that 

16 the United States can onshore, at a 

17 competitive availability, cost, and 

18 quality, for those minerals and supply 

19 chains that the United States relies 

20 on the People’s Republic of China or 

21 other covered countries to provide; 

22 ‘‘(VI) opportunities for the Fed23 eral Government, Indian Tribes, and 

24 State, local, and territorial govern25 ments to mitigate risks to the national 


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1 security of the United States with re2 spect to supply chains for critical min3 erals that the United States currently 

4 relies on the People’s Republic of 

5 China or other covered countries for 

6 mining, processing, refining, and recy7 cling; and 

8 ‘‘(VII) evaluating and integrating 

9 the recommendations of the Critical 

10 Minerals Subcommittee of the Na11 tional Science and Technology Council 

12 into the recommendations of the task 

13 force; 

14 ‘‘(iii) prioritizing the recommendations 

15 in clause (ii), taking into consideration eco16 nomic costs and focusing on the critical 

17 mineral supply chains with vulnerabilities 

18 posing the most significant risks to the na19 tional security of the United States; 

20 ‘‘(iv) recommending specific strate21 gies, to be carried out in coordination with 

22 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 

23 Commerce, to strengthen international 

24 partnerships in furtherance of critical min25 erals supply chain security with interVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Apr 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7807.IH H7807

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1 national allies and partners, including a 

2 strategy to collaborate with governments of 

3 the allies and partners described in sub4 paragraph (B) to develop advanced mining, 

5 refining, separation and processing tech6 nologies; and 

7 ‘‘(v) other duties, as determined by 

8 the Chair. 

9 ‘‘(B) ALLIES AND PARTNERS.—The allies 

10 and partners referred to in subparagraph (A) 

11 include— 

12 ‘‘(i) countries participating in the 

13 Quadrilateral Security Dialogue; 

14 ‘‘(ii) countries that are— 

15 ‘‘(I) signatories to the Abraham 

16 Accords; or 

17 ‘‘(II) participants in the Negev 

18 Forum; 

19 ‘‘(iii) countries that are members of 

20 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iv) other countries or multilateral 

23 partnerships the task force determines to 

24 be appropriate. 

25 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The Chair shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) not later than 60 days after the 

2 date of enactment of this subsection, and 

3 every 60 days thereafter until the require4 ments under subsection (a) are satisfied, 

5 brief the appropriate committees of Con6 gress on the status of the compliance of 

7 the President with completing the require8 ments under that subsection; 

9 ‘‘(ii) not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, submit to 

11 the appropriate committees of Congress a 

12 report, which shall be submitted in unclas13 sified form, but may include a classified 

14 annex, that describes any findings, guide15 lines, and recommendations created in per16 forming the duties under subparagraph 

17 (A); 

18 ‘‘(iii) not later than 120 days after 

19 the date on which the Chair submits the 

20 report under clause (ii), publish that report 

21 in the Federal Register and on the website 

22 of the Office of Management and Budget, 

23 except that the Chair shall redact informa24 tion from the report that the Chair deter25 mines could pose a risk to the national seVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Apr 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7807.IH H7807

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1 curity of the United States by being pub2 licly available; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) brief the appropriate committees 

4 of Congress twice per year. 

5 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.—The task force shall terminate 

6 on the date that is 90 days after the date on which 

7 the task force completes the requirements under 

8 paragraph (5)(C).’’. 

9 (b) GAO STUDY.— 

10 (1) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller Gen11 eral of the United States shall conduct a study ex12 amining the Federal and State regulatory landscape 

13 related to improving domestic supply chains for crit14 ical minerals in the United States. 

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

17 General of the United States shall submit to the ap18 propriate committees of Congress a report that de19 scribes the results of the study under paragraph (1). 

20 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 (A) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON22 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of 

23 Congress’’ means— 

24 (i) the Committees on Homeland Se25 curity and Governmental Affairs, Energy 


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1 and Natural Resources, Armed Services, 

2 Environment and Public Works, Com3 merce, Science, and Transportation, Fi4 nance, and Foreign Relations of the Sen5 ate; and 

6 (ii) the Committees on Oversight and 

7 Accountability, Natural Resources, Armed 

8 Services, Ways and Means, Foreign Af9 fairs, and Energy and Commerce of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (B) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘‘crit12 ical mineral’’ has the meaning given the term in 

13 section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 

14 U.S.C. 1606(a)). 

Æ 


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