I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2785 

To establish in the Department of State the United States Energy Resource 

Governance Initiative to promote sound mining sector governance and 

resilient energy mineral supply chains by bringing countries together 

to engage on advancing governance principles, sharing best practices, 

and encouraging a level playing field for investment, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2021 

Mr. KINZINGER (for himself and Ms. SPANBERGER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish in the Department of State the United States 

Energy Resource Governance Initiative to promote sound 

mining sector governance and resilient energy mineral 

supply chains by bringing countries together to engage 

on advancing governance principles, sharing best practices, and encouraging a level playing field for investment, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Resource Gov3 ernance Initiative Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) diverse and resilient energy and mineral 

7 supply chains are vital for the United States, our 

8 partners and allies, and for global economic stability; 

9 (2) many green and renewable energy tech10 nologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, 

11 and battery storage technology, require high inputs 

12 of specific energy minerals, which may cause the 

13 global demand for these products to skyrocket over 

14 the coming decades; 

15 (3) United States and international efforts to 

16 drive global emission reductions and net zero goals 

17 rely on these critical minerals to deploy clean energy 

18 technologies; 

19 (4) vulnerable critical mineral supply chains 

20 present a significant risk to United States national 

21 security interests, including— 

22 (A) overreliance on a single or limited sup23 ply source for critical mineral inputs; and 

24 (B) poor mineral sector governance, includ25 ing weak labor standards, limited environmental 

26 protections, failure to develop a social license to 


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1 operate, which deters responsible investment 

2 and limits the long-term sustainability of min3 ing operations; 

4 (5) the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leads 

5 the world in the mining and production of rare earth 

6 metals, comprising nearly 90 percent of the global 

7 market, and it is in the national security interest of 

8 the United States to provide an alternative to PRC 

9 domination of these supply chains; and 

10 (6) the United States should build upon the ef11 forts made with the Governments of Australia, Bot12 swana, Canada, and Peru in creating the Energy 

13 Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) to advance 

14 governance principles and best practices for mineral 

15 extraction. 

16 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

17 It is the policy of the United States to— 

18 (1) promote sound mining sector governance 

19 and resilient energy mineral supply chains by bring20 ing countries together to engage on advancing gov21 ernance principles, sharing best practices, and en22 couraging a level playing field for investment; 

23 (2) encourage governments to incorporate re24 sponsible mineral supply chain sourcing principles 


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1 into their national climate strategies and clean en2 ergy technology procurement plans; and 

3 (3) encourage companies, including green and 

4 renewable energy, to source 100 percent of their 

5 critical mineral supply from responsible and environ6 mentally sound supply chains by 2030. 

7 SEC. 4. ENERGY RESOURCE GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 Department of State an entity to be known as the ‘‘En10 ergy Resource Governance Initiative’’ (ERGI). 

11 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Energy Re12 source Governance Initiative established under subsection 

13 (a) are to carry out the following: 

14 (1) Promote responsible and sustainable mining 

15 practices globally by enabling sharing of best prac16 tices for mineral extraction management and govern17 ance. 

18 (2) Foster integrated and resilient supply 

19 chains and help identify options to diversify and 

20 strengthen supply chains. 

21 (3) Facilitate trade and industry connections to 

22 promote responsible critical mineral sourcing and 

23 advance mineral sector good governance. 

24 (4) Facilitate mineral sector technical assist25 ance to partner countries to identify new supply 


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1 chain opportunities, sustainably and responsibly 

2 commercialize critical mineral sector resources, and 

3 mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities. 

4 (5) Encourage the international community to 

5 incorporate responsible mineral supply chain 

6 sourcing principles, including resource surveys, into 

7 their national climate strategies and clean energy 

8 technology procurement plans. 

9 (6) Seek to minimize the adverse impact that 

10 increasing renewable energy demand could have on 

11 mineral-rich countries. 

12 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Activities carried out 

13 under the Energy Resource Governance Initiative shall— 

14 (1) be carried out in countries in which the Sec15 retary of State determines there is an adequate level 

16 of partner country commitment, partner country 

17 needs, absorptive capacity, sustainment capacity, 

18 and efforts of private sector donors; 

19 (2) be closely coordinated among diplomatic 

20 and development missions, and relevant participating 

21 Federal departments and agencies; and 

22 (3) complement and enhance efforts to promote 

23 democratic governance, the rule of law, human 

24 rights, and economic growth. 


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1 (d) DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL SUPPORT.—The 

2 Secretary of State, in coordination with other relevant 

3 Federal departments and agencies, shall provide diplo4 matic and political support to partner countries, including 

5 by using the diplomatic and political influence and exper6 tise of the Department of State to build the capacity of 

7 such countries to resolve any impediments to the imple8 mentation of activities pursuant to subsection (c). 

9 (e) COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR.—The 

10 Secretary of State, through the Bureau of Energy Re11 sources of the Department of State, shall coordinate with 

12 the United States International Development Finance 

13 Corporation to mobilize private sector engagement and 

14 partnership to facilitate the objectives described in sub15 section (b), including by supporting investment frame16 works that attract top tier private sector investment fo17 cused on responsible mineral extraction. 

18 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for 

20 the following ten years, the Secretary of State shall pro21 vide a report to the appropriate congressional committees 

22 that includes assessments of— 

23 (1) progress towards achievement of the objec24 tives described in subsection (b); 


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1 (2) success of coordination with the private sec2 tor pursuant to subsection (e); 

3 (3) efforts by the Chinese Communist Party or 

4 related entities to influence the policies of ERGI 

5 partner countries with regard to their mining sectors 

6 or supply chains; and 

7 (4) how ERGI is furthering the national secu8 rity interests of the United States. 

9 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro10 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

11 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

12 House of Representatives; and 

13 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

14 Senate. 

Æ 


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