I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7636 

To support international governance of seafloor resource exploration and 

responsible polymetallic nodule collection by allied partners, strengthen 

domestic processing and refining capabilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2024 

Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia (for herself and Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and 

Means, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To support international governance of seafloor resource exploration and responsible polymetallic nodule collection 

by allied partners, strengthen domestic processing and 

refining capabilities, 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 ‘‘Responsible Use of 

5 Seafloor Resources Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SEAFLOOR RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND EXPLOI2 TATION. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) The United States is falling behind in com5 petitiveness within supply chains for critical defense 

6 and clean energy technologies and therefore must 

7 develop an alternative supply of critical minerals to 

8 lessen dependance on foreign adversaries. 

9 (2) Establishing a secure and resilient critical 

10 mineral supply chain is a matter of national secu11 rity. 

12 (3) China controls roughly 60 percent of the 

13 global critical mineral production and over 85 per14 cent of the world’s refining capacity. 

15 (4) This has been achieved by early and aggres16 sive investment in mining and processing operations 

17 across South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. 

18 (5) Recognizing the potential of marine re19 sources to further its position, China is increasing 

20 its investment in deep-sea mining, holding the most 

21 exploration contracts of any country. 

22 (6) Investing in alternatives serving to diversify 

23 supply such as the collection of seafloor nodules is 

24 integral to ensuring the United States does not con25 tinue its over-dependence on China and other adver26 sarial nations. 


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1 (7) As mining has been largely outsourced to 

2 other parts of the world, China has become the top 

3 producer of 30 of the 50 U.S. critical minerals. With 

4 this shift, the governance of environmental and so5 cial impacts of mining and processing operations is 

6 largely out of the control of the United States. 

7 (8) Prioritizing supply with existing or potential 

8 for transparent, accountable, and responsible 

9 sourcing is integral to ensuring the United States 

10 does not continue to export adverse environmental 

11 and social (ESG) impacts of mining and processing 

12 abroad in countries that are apathetic or less 

13 equipped to abide by internationally accepted stand14 ards. 

15 (9) Investing in the development of mineral re16 sources and processing infrastructure quantitatively 

17 proven to reduce ESG impacts, such as seafloor nod18 ules, is integral to ensuring the raw materials that 

19 underpin our domestic industrial base and transition 

20 to clean energy do not have adverse planetary im21 pacts. 

22 (10) Developing U.S. partnerships to secure 

23 seafloor resources and domestic capabilities to proc24 ess these materials is in the nation’s economic, envi25 ronmental and security interests. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—The President shall direct the 

2 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

3 the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the Office 

4 of Science and Technology Policy— 

5 (1) together with Federal interagency efforts, to 

6 provide financial, diplomatic, or other forms of sup7 port for seafloor nodule collection, processing, and 

8 refining where upstream sourcing is compliant with 

9 regulations; and 

10 (2) to coordinate and expedite across Federal 

11 agencies the development of infrastructure to proc12 ess and refine seafloor nodules within the United 

13 States. 

14 (c) REPORTS.— 

15 (1) OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

16 POLICY.—The Director of the Office of Science and 

17 Technology Policy shall annually submit to the 

18 President and Congress a report including the fol19 lowing: 

20 (A) A quantitative and qualitative analysis 

21 of the benefits to the United States to import22 ing seafloor nodules and processing and refining 

23 such seafloor nodules domestically, including 

24 benefits related to— 

25 (i) foreign relations; 


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1 (ii) research and technology develop2 ment; 

3 (iii) environmental and social impact 

4 monitoring; 

5 (iv) utilization of existing industrial 

6 base, including offshore infrastructure and 

7 processing consumables; 

8 (v) job creation; and 

9 (vi) market impact to various indus10 tries, including battery and electric vehicle 

11 production. 

12 (B) A quantitative analysis comparing the 

13 lifecycle environmental and social effects of 

14 sourcing a benchmark amount of critical min15 erals from seafloor nodules to the environ16 mental and social effects of sourcing such 

17 amount of critical minerals from land-based 

18 projects, based on the most recent data avail19 able from both public and private sources, in20 cluding consideration of— 

21 (i) benefit sharing and capacity build22 ing; 

23 (ii) human health and labor condi24 tions; 

25 (iii) revenue streams; and 


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1 (iv) local ecosystem impacts and the 

2 ability to utilize impact mitigation hierar3 chies, including avoidance, minimization, 

4 rehabilitation, and offsets. 

5 (C) An analysis of the applicability of 

6 seafloor nodule collection and data acquisition 

7 technologies used in the deep-sea environment 

8 for the purpose of initiatives carried out by the 

9 United States, including the mapping of tech10 nologies used and data acquired in the deep-sea 

11 environment in international waters and map12 ping, exploring, and characterizing minerals in 

13 the exclusive economic zone of the United 

14 States. 

15 (2) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—The Sec16 retary of Commerce shall submit to the President 

17 and Congress a report that includes a description of 

18 Federal legislation and documents that are relevant 

19 to the importation and processing of seafloor nodules 

20 and seafloor nodule-derived products sourced from 

21 outside the exclusive economic zone of the United 

22 States by individuals who are not United States citi23 zens, including— 

24 (A) the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Re25 sources Act (30 U.S.C. 1401 note et seq.); and 


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1 (B) the internal advice decision letter of 

2 the United States Customs and Border Protec3 tion regarding the determination of the origina4 tion, tariff, and Harmonized Tariff System 

5 classification of seafloor nodules and seafloor 

6 nodule-derived products. 

7 (d) CRITICAL MINERAL DEFINED.—In this section, 

8 the term ‘‘critical mineral’’ has the meaning given the 

9 term in section 7002(a)(3) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 

10 U.S.C. 1606(a)(3)). 

Æ 


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