I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8310 

To require strategies on United States policy towards the Democratic Republic 

of the Congo, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2024 

Mr. JAMES (for himself and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 require strategies on United States policy towards the 

Democratic Republic of the Congo, 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 ‘‘Bipartisan Building 

5 Relationships and Increasing Democratic Governance 

6 through Engagement to DRC Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘Bipar7 tisan BRIDGE to DRC Act of 2024’’. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The United States recognized the Demo2 cratic Republic of the Congo (hereafter referred to 

3 as ‘‘the DRC’’) on June 30, 1960. 

4 (2) The DRC has long suffered from armed 

5 conflicts and threats to its territorial integrity, in6 cluding by the March 23 Movement (hereafter re7 ferred to as ‘‘M23’’), ISIS–DRC, also known as the 

8 Allied Democratic Forces, and the Forces 

9 De ́mocratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (hereafter 

10 referred to as ‘‘FDLR’’). 

11 (3) Political stability in the DRC is crucial to 

12 economic growth and development in the country. 

13 The DRC’s instability is further exacerbated by im14 punity, endemic corruption, exploitation of its nat15 ural resources, armed conflict, and human rights 

16 abuses. 

17 (4) The DRC held presidential, legislative, pro18 vincial, and municipal council elections in December 

19 2023, that were marred by irregularities, logistical 

20 difficulties and delays. 

21 (5) The United Nations Stabilization Mission in 

22 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (hereafter re23 ferred to as ‘‘MONUSCO’’), first deployed in 1999, 

24 is scheduled to draw down. 


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1 (6) Regional mechanisms have been unable to 

2 sufficiently address the longstanding insecurity. 

3 (7) The DRC has globally significant reserves 

4 of cobalt and other critical minerals, including lith5 ium, tantalum, and rare earth elements such as nio6 bium and germanium, among others. 

7 (8) The DRC is the world’s largest producer 

8 and exporter of cobalt and, as of mid-2023, the 

9 world’s second largest producer of copper. 

10 (9) As of 2021, 15 of the 19 cobalt producing 

11 mines in the DRC are owned or in part financed by 

12 the People’s Republic of China (hereafter referred to 

13 as ‘‘PRC’’) based firms. 

14 (10) In 2016, one of the largest copper and co15 balt mines in the world, Tenke Fungurume, and in 

16 2020, the undeveloped Kisanfu concession were sold 

17 by a United States company to the PRC state-tied 

18 mining company CMOC (previously known as China 

19 Molybdenum Company Limited). 

20 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that— 

22 (1) the stability of the Democratic Republic of 

23 the Congo is a strategic priority for the people of the 

24 DRC, the continent of Africa, and the United 

25 States, and it is in the economic and national secuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 May 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8310.IH H8310

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1 rity interest of the United States to support ac2 countable, inclusive, and democratic governance in 

3 the Democratic Republic of Congo; 

4 (2) it is in the United States interest to support 

5 additional efforts to end conflicts in eastern DRC, 

6 including by seeking to end the Rwandan Govern7 ment’s support to the M23, the DRC Government’s 

8 support to the FDLR, the documented use of child 

9 soldiers by armed groups, and the threat posed to 

10 the Congolese people from undisciplined elements of 

11 the armed forces of the DRC and non-state armed 

12 groups; 

13 (3) United States humanitarian assistance re14 mains critical in providing millions of people in the 

15 DRC with life-saving aid and alleviating the suf16 fering of people affected by disasters; 

17 (4) the United States should use its voice, vote, 

18 and influence in the United Nations to ensure that 

19 the withdrawal of MONUSCO from the DRC does 

20 not create a security vacuum that amplifies the 

21 armed conflict and humanitarian crisis in eastern 

22 DRC; 

23 (5) the United States should identify policy re24 forms that would support the aspirations of the 


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1 DRC Government to become eligible for a Millenium 

2 Challenge Corporation threshold program; 

3 (6) the United States should build on the Africa 

4 Gold Advisory issued in June 2023 and encourage 

5 enterprises active in the mineral supply chain of gold 

6 produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 

7 notably Primera Gold DRC and AuricHub, to ensure 

8 that their sourcing practices are in full compliance 

9 with national, regional, and international require10 ments and standards and benefit the Congolese peo11 ple; 

12 (7) the United States should work to ensure en13 forcement of voluntary and mandatory due diligence 

14 mechanisms and safeguards to protect internation15 ally recognized worker rights, support multi stake16 holder alliances and industry coalitions, and pursue 

17 actions to end human rights violations, environ18 mental degradation, and opaque businesses practices 

19 in the DRC’s mining sector, and especially in regard 

20 to artisanal mining, the United States should assist 

21 and work to ensure that forced labor, including child 

22 labor, and other human rights abuses are not prac23 ticed; and 

24 (8) the current dominant role of the PRC over 

25 the extraction, processing and refining of the DRC’s 


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1 cobalt and certain other critical minerals, coupled 

2 with poor governance and illegal exploitation of crit3 ical minerals, deprives the DRC of important rev4 enue and added value and has contributed to the 

5 lack of adherence to governance, human rights prin6 ciples, and labor and environmental standards. 

7 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

8 It is the policy of the United States to— 

9 (1) support efforts to address conflict and in10 stability in the DRC, including to urge armed actors 

11 to comply with their obligations to protect civilians 

12 under international humanitarian law and to respect 

13 international human rights; 

14 (2) use existing sanctions authorities including 

15 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 

16 Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.), Executive Order 

17 13413 as amended by Executive Order 13671, and 

18 Executive Order 13224 as amended against those 

19 perpetrating corruption or human rights violations 

20 in the DRC; 

21 (3) condemn all actions that suppress press 

22 freedom and to reaffirm to the Government of the 

23 DRC the centrality of press freedom to efforts of the 

24 United States Government to support democracy, 

25 mitigate conflict, and promote good governance; 


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1 (4) ensure that critical minerals are produced, 

2 processed, and recycled in a manner that supports 

3 the ability of countries to realize the full economic 

4 development benefit of their geological endowments 

5 and that respects human rights as well as environ6 mental, social, labor, and governance standards; 

7 (5) support efforts to accurately oversee, mon8 itor, and prevent labor and human rights abuses in 

9 the DRC’s mining industry in order to remove child 

10 and forced labor, which occurs in some artisanal 

11 mining, from United States and global supply 

12 chains, including by encouraging the Government of 

13 the DRC to support business and technological 

14 skills-training and other capacity-building measures, 

15 including legal reforms, to help build the legitimate, 

16 responsible, conflict-free, productive and income-gen17 erating capacity of the artisanal and small-scale 

18 mining sector; 

19 (6) engage with the Government of the DRC to 

20 address factors, including opaque business and tax21 ation practices, and unpredictable administrative re22 quirements, that limit United States investment and 

23 constrain the ability of the United States and the 

24 DRC to strengthen economic cooperation; 


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1 (7) encourage Federal departments and agen2 cies including the Department of State, the United 

3 States Agency for International Development, the 

4 United States Development Finance Corporation, 

5 the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the 

6 United States Trade and Development Agency, and 

7 the Department of Commerce to identify opportuni8 ties to increase the amount of United States invest9 ment in the DRC’s critical minerals sector; and 

10 (8) recognize that the PRC’s influence over the 

11 DRC’s mining sector output and processing is harm12 ful to the Congolese people, in particular the preda13 tory and opaque business tactics and labor rights 

14 violations of PRC-linked entities. 

15 SEC. 5. STRATEGY ON DEMOCRACY, PEACE, AND STABILITY 

16 IN THE DRC. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the President, in consulta19 tion with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, 

20 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

21 International Development, shall submit to the appro22 priate congressional committees a strategy to promote de23 mocracy, peace, and stability in the DRC. Such strategy 

24 shall include the following— 


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1 (1) a long-term plan for the United States to 

2 support and promote democracy and good govern3 ance in the DRC, including— 

4 (A) identifying specific failures in the Na5 tional Independent Electoral Commission’s 

6 2023 election planning that contributed to the 

7 pre-election voter roll issues and logistical 

8 delays in distributing ballot materials and the 

9 election day irregularities regarding polling sta10 tion openings and voting machine performance, 

11 to ensure that future elections are free and fair; 

12 and 

13 (B) identifying necessary reforms to gov14 ernment institutions to address corruption, pro15 mote human rights, and increase transparency 

16 and accountability; 

17 (2) a plan to address conflict and instability in 

18 eastern DRC, including support for— 

19 (A) plans to promote more transparent co20 ordination among various state security actors; 

21 (B) a vetting mechanism to remove abusive 

22 officers from command positions in the state se23 curity forces; 


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1 (C) an effective Disarmament, Demobiliza2 tion, and Reintegration (DDR) program for 

3 former combatants; 

4 (D) encouraging greater protection of civil5 ians and human rights; 

6 (E) truth and reconciliation processes to 

7 address grievances of parties to the conflict; 

8 and 

9 (F) preventing and addressing human 

10 rights abuses by all parties; and 

11 (G) an inclusive and holistic approach to 

12 justice and accountability for perpetrators of 

13 human rights violations and atrocities. 

14 (b) FORM.—The strategy required under subsection 

15 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and may in16 clude a classified annex. 

17 (c) UPDATES.—Not later than 3 years after the sub18 mission of the initial strategy required by subsection (a), 

19 and every 3 years thereafter for 12 years, the President 

20 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

21 a report that includes— 

22 (1) an update of the strategy submitted pursu23 ant to subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of such 

2 strategy, as of the date of the submission of the up3 date. 

4 SEC. 6. NATIONAL STRATEGY ON THE DRC’S CRITICAL MIN5 ERAL SECTOR. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the President, in consulta8 tion with the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the 

9 United States Agency for International Development, and 

10 the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and 

11 agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a written strategy to support efforts by the 

13 DRC to ensure critical minerals are produced, processed, 

14 and recycled in a manner that— 

15 (1) supports the ability of the people of the 

16 DRC to realize the full economic development ben17 efit of their geological endowments; and 

18 (2) adheres to the highest human rights as well 

19 as environmental, social, labor, and governance 

20 standards. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

22 (a) shall also include the following: 

23 (1) An analysis of the level of control exerted 

24 by the PRC over the DRC’s mining sector, includ25 ing— 


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1 (A) the market share of PRC-linked enti2 ties in the DRC’s mining sector, to include 

3 analysis of the market share for each of the 

4 critical minerals identified as part of the United 

5 States Geological Survey list of 50 mineral com6 modities critical to the United States economy 

7 and national security and being at the highest 

8 risk of supply chain disruption in both the DRC 

9 as a whole and within each province where the 

10 critical minerals are located; and 

11 (B) the financial terms of PRC-linked enti12 ties investments in primary extraction. 

13 (2) An assessment of human rights and labor 

14 conditions at PRC-owned mines in the DRC com15 pared to those owned by partner countries. 

16 (3) An assessment of the market share and ca17 pacity of partner country mining companies with re18 spect to the DRC’s mining sector. 

19 (4) An assessment of illicit mining deals, crit20 ical mineral theft, and corruption in resource rich 

21 areas of the DRC. 

22 (5) A plan to facilitate consultation with Congo23 lese civil society and community leaders to develop 

24 a comprehensive and holistic strategy to achieve the 

25 goals in subsection (a). 


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1 (6) A strategic plan to use bilateral and multi2 lateral diplomatic relations, including through sus3 tained engagement with the governments of United 

4 States allies and partners, to express to the Govern5 ment of the DRC that the international community 

6 supports business and technological skills-training 

7 and other capacity-building measures, including legal 

8 reforms, to help build the legitimate, responsible, 

9 and conflict-free productive and income-generating 

10 capacities of the artisanal and small-scale mining 

11 sector to the benefit of the Congolese people. 

12 (7) A plan to ensure the issuance of due dili13 gence reporting requirements for private sector enti14 ties engaged in the sector in the DRC. 

15 (8) An interagency plan to increase United 

16 States investment in the DRC, including through— 

17 (A) providing foreign assistance to consult 

18 with and promote sustainable development in 

19 communities affected by mining, protect human 

20 rights, and provide professional training for 

21 local workers; 

22 (B) providing technical assistance to sup23 port the Government of the DRC’s efforts to 

24 improve the business climate of the DRC; and 


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1 (C) ensuring sufficient staffing of the 

2 United States Embassy in Kinshasa to support 

3 the critical minerals portfolio, including by es4 tablishing a permanent presence of Foreign 

5 Commercial Service Officers to provide commer6 cial services and export assistance to United 

7 States companies seeking to do business in the 

8 DRC. 

9 (c) FORM.—The strategy required under subsection 

10 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and may in11 clude a classified annex. 

12 (d) UPDATES.—Not later than 3 years after the sub13 mission of the initial strategy required by subsection (a), 

14 and every 3 years thereafter for 12 years, the President 

15 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

16 a report that includes— 

17 (1) an update of the strategy submitted pursu18 ant to subsection (a); and 

19 (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of such 

20 strategy, as of the date of the submission of the up21 date. 

22 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

5 Committee on Appropriations, the Committee 

6 on Financial Services, and the Committee on 

7 Ways and Means of the House of Representa8 tives; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

10 the Committee on Appropriations, and the 

11 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

12 Affairs of the Senate. 

13 (2) ARMED GROUP.—The term ‘‘armed group’’ 

14 means an armed state or non-state actor that is 

15 identified as a perpetrator of serious human rights 

16 abuses in the Department of State’s annual Country 

17 Reports on Human Rights Practices. 

18 (3) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘‘critical 

19 mineral’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

20 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 

21 1606(a)). 

22 (4) PRC-LINKED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘PRC23 linked entity’’ means a foreign entity that— 

24 (A) is subject to the jurisdiction or direc25 tion of the PRC; 


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1 (B) is legally registered or internationally 

2 headquartered in the PRC; 

3 (C) is directly operating on behalf of the 

4 PRC; 

5 (D) is majority owned by, or directly or in6 directly controlled by, the PRC; 

7 (E) is formed from a spin-off, merger or 

8 acquisition, or sale of a business unit involving 

9 an entity described in any of subparagraphs (A) 

10 through (D) or is otherwise a successor to such 

11 an entity; or 

12 (F) provides financial services for an entity 

13 described in any of subparagraphs (A) through 

14 (E). 

15 (5) PARTNER COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘partner 

16 country’’ means any country that is not defined as 

17 a ‘‘Foreign Country of Concern’’ under section 

18 231.102 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, or 

19 any successor regulation. 

Æ 


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