I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2176 

To provide for the continued and uninterrupted production of domestic 

minerals in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2021 

Mr. STEWART introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 provide for the continued and uninterrupted production 

of domestic minerals in the United States. 

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 ‘‘Ensuring Access to 

5 Domestic Mineral Production Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—The term ‘‘withdrawal’’ means 

9 withholding an area of Federal public land from the locaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2176.IH H2176

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1 tion of new mining claim, purchase and from mining ac2 tivities such as exploration and mine development in ac3 cordance with 43 U.S.C. § 1702(j); 43 C.F.R. § 2300– 

4 0–5(h). 

5 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means ei6 ther the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri7 culture or their designee. 

8 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress finds that production of 

10 domestic minerals is essential to U.S. economic and na11 tional security and necessary to provide the essential re12 sources needed for the U.S. economy and allied nations, 

13 including— 

14 (1) for the national defense and national secu15 rity requirements; 

16 (2) for the energy infrastructure of the United 

17 States, including— 

18 (A) pipelines; 

19 (B) refining capacity; 

20 (C) electrical power generation and trans21 mission; and 

22 (D) renewable energy production; 

23 (3) for community resiliency, coastal restora24 tion, and ecological sustainability for the coastal 

25 United States; 


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1 (4) to support domestic manufacturing, agri2 culture, housing, telecommunications, healthcare, 

3 and transportation infrastructure; or 

4 (5) for the economic security of, and balance of 

5 trade in, the United States. 

6 (b) WITHDRAWALS OF LANDS PURSUANT TO SEC7 TION 204 OF THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGE8 MENT ACT (FLPMA).—In enacting FLPMA to govern 

9 withdrawals of Federal lands and mineral assessment of 

10 lands prior to any withdrawal, Congress expressly in11 tended to— 

12 (1) limit the Secretary’s authority to withdraw 

13 more than five thousand acres; and 

14 (2) provide a mechanism for Congress to dis15 approve withdrawals that exceed five thousand acres. 

16 SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON MINERAL WITHDRAWALS. 

17 (a) Congress prohibits the Secretary from any min18 eral withdrawal until a mineral study has been completed, 

19 as required under Section 204 of FLPMA, that dem20 onstrates that the proposed withdrawal will not result in 

21 any negative impacts to U.S. national security by limiting 

22 access to critical minerals. 

23 (b) Congress prohibits the Secretary from with24 drawing Federal lands in excess of five thousand acres un25 less the withdrawal is expressly approved by Congress. 


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1 (c) Prior to any withdrawal being initiated, the U.S. 

2 Geological Survey—in consultation with the Department 

3 of Defense, Department of State, and the U.S. Trade Rep4 resentative—will conduct a mineral assessment to ensure 

5 that the minerals to be withdrawn by a proposed with6 drawal does not impede the ability of the U.S. or its allies 

7 to procure a secure supply chain of mineral resources nec8 essary for activities designated in Section 3(a), and in 

9 turn, result in negative impacts on— 

10 (1) U.S. economic or national security; 

11 (2) U.S. allies economic or national security; or 

12 (3) the ability to ensure an appropriate balance 

13 of trade. 

14 SEC. 5. MINERAL ASSESSMENT. 

15 (a) Any mineral assessment conducted prior to any 

16 withdrawal being initiated must— 

17 (1) include ample opportunity for input from 

18 the public including mineral and mining interests; 

19 (2) include forecasted impacts to U.S. and al20 lied nations economic and national security; 

21 (3) include forecasted impacts to U.S. mineral 

22 supply chains; 

23 (4) be completed no more than 12 months prior 

24 to the withdrawal; 


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1 (5) evaluate the impacts of continued mineral 

2 import reliance from foreign sources, including geo3 political adversaries; 

4 (6) include a comprehensive geological mapping 

5 and analysis by USGS of the likelihood of the pres6 ence of critical minerals within the withdrawal area; 

7 and 

8 (7) include an analysis, conducted by the De9 partment of Defense, of the impacts of the with10 drawal on national security, including— 

11 (A) vulnerabilities to national security of 

12 preventing access to domestic minerals located 

13 in the withdrawal area. 

Æ 


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