I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7021 
To establish a new educational exchange program to strengthen domestic 
mining education, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 12, 2026 
Mr. OLSZEWSKI (for himself, Mrs. KIM, Mr. BERA, and Mr. HUIZENGA) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish a new educational exchange program to 
strengthen domestic mining education, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Critical Mineral Min-
ing Education Act of 2026’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the United States mining industry 
and, more broadly, mining and mineral processing and re-
fining, is widely reported as facing a significant personnel 
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shortage. This shortage is driven by an aging workforce, 
declining numbers of graduates entering mining careers, 
and difficulty recruiting and retaining skilled workers. 
Fifty percent of the current mining workforce is expected 
to retire within the next 5 years. In 2023, only 14 United 
States universities and colleges had mining and mining en-
gineer programs. Downstream segments, such as ore proc-
essing, refining, and metallurgy, are affected by the same 
workforce trends. Institutions and personnel from allied 
countries with mining expertise can share their knowledge 
and experience with the United States workforce through 
education exchange programs. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961 (Public Law 87–256; 22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 101 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 101A. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this Act: 
‘‘(1) ADVANCED DEGREE.—The term ‘advanced 
degree’ means a degree from an institution of higher 
education that is a master’s or doctoral degree. 
‘‘(2) CRITICAL
MINERAL.—The term ‘critical 
mineral’— 
‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in 
section 7002(a)(3) of the Energy Act of 2020 
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(division Z of Public Law 116–260; 30 U.S.C. 
1606(a)(3)); and 
‘‘(B) includes gold, and copper, and any 
other mineral or mineral material the Secretary 
of State determines— 
‘‘(i) to be essential to the economic or 
national security of the United States; and 
‘‘(ii) has a supply chain vulnerable to 
disruption. 
‘‘(3) EXCESS FOREIGN CURRENCIES.—The term 
‘excess foreign currencies’ means foreign currencies, 
which, if acquired by the United States— 
‘‘(A) would be in excess of the normal re-
quirements of departments, agencies, and em-
bassies of the United States for such cur-
rencies, as determined by the President; and 
‘‘(B) would be available for the use of the 
United States Government under applicable 
agreements with the foreign country concerned. 
‘‘(4) FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘Federal 
employee’— 
‘‘(A) means any employee described in sub-
paragraphs 
(A) 
through 
(F) 
of 
section 
7342(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code; and 
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‘‘(B) does not include a person described 
in subparagraph (G) of such section. 
‘‘(5) 
GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED
INTER-
NATIONAL EXCHANGES AND TRAINING.—The term 
‘Government-sponsored international exchanges and 
training’ means the movement of people between 
countries, financed wholly or in part with United 
States Government funds— 
‘‘(A) to promote the sharing of ideas; 
‘‘(B) to develop skills; and 
‘‘(C) to foster mutual understanding and 
cooperation. 
‘‘(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1001(a))). 
‘‘(7) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNI-
VERSITY.—The term ‘historically Black college and 
university’ has the meaning given the term ‘part B 
institution’ in section 322(2) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)). 
‘‘(8) MINING EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The term 
‘Mining Education Program’ means an academic 
program related to the mining industry. 
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‘‘(9) MINING INDUSTRY.—The term ‘mining in-
dustry’ means the mining industry of the United 
States, which consists of activities related to natu-
rally occurring metal and nonmetal critical minerals, 
including— 
‘‘(A) geological mapping, geophysical sur-
veying, geochemical sampling, and management 
of geological data; 
‘‘(B) mineral system analysis, exploration, 
and resource delineation, including exploratory 
drilling and resource estimation and classifica-
tion; 
‘‘(C) project development, feasibility stud-
ies, financing, and permitting; 
‘‘(D) mine construction, extraction, and 
operational support activities; 
‘‘(E) mineral processing, beneficiation, 
smelting, refining, chemical conversion, and 
separation; 
‘‘(F) material conversion and advanced 
materials manufacturing; 
‘‘(G) transportation, logistics, and han-
dling of intermediate and finished material 
products; and 
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‘‘(H) reclamation, remediation, reuse, recy-
cling, and recovery of materials from primary 
and secondary sources, including mine waste 
and end-of-life products. 
‘‘(10) MINING PROFESSION.—The term ‘mining 
profession’ means the body of jobs directly related to 
the mining industry. 
‘‘(11) MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘minority-serving institution’ means an eligible 
institution under section 371(a) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)).’’. 
SEC. 4. CRITICAL MINERAL MINING FELLOWSHIP PRO-
GRAM. 
The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961, as amended by section 3, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 116. CRITICAL MINERAL MINING FELLOWSHIP PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is authorized to be es-
tablished the Critical Mineral Mining Fellowship Program 
(referred to in this section as the ‘Fellowship Program’) 
within the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange 
Program. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Fellowship 
Program are— 
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‘‘(1) to advance foreign policy priorities of the 
United States by promoting studies, research, and 
international exchange in the mining industry; 
‘‘(2) to send United States students to mining 
institutions abroad to build the capacity of the 
United States mining workforce; 
‘‘(3) to develop a robust and skilled workforce 
that can support and fill the gaps of the United 
States’ growing domestic critical mineral supply 
chain; and 
‘‘(4) to reduce dependency on foreign energy 
and critical mineral supplies and enhance competi-
tiveness of the United States within the global crit-
ical mineral marketplace. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Bureau of Education 
and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State (referred 
to in this section as the ‘Bureau’) shall administer the Fel-
lowship Program in accordance with policy guidelines es-
tablished by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘Board’), in consultation 
with binational Fulbright Commissions, mining industry 
leaders, institutions of higher education, foreign govern-
ments, and United States embassies in eligible countries. 
‘‘(d) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Bureau shall deter-
mine the number of fellows selected for the Fellow-
ship Program each year. The Board shall select 
qualified individuals to participate in the Fellowship 
Program. In selecting the fellows, the Board should 
ensure geographic representation to ensure region- 
specific specialties are developed. 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—All fellows shall meet one of 
the following criteria: 
‘‘(A) Have a conferred bachelors degree, or 
equivalent degree, before the start of the Fel-
lowship period. 
‘‘(B) Be a student who is currently en-
rolled in a United States institution of higher 
education completing an advanced degree in the 
field of science, technology, engineering, or 
mathematics or a field related to the mining in-
dustry. 
‘‘(C) Have had a conferred postdoctoral 
degree during the 5-year period immediately 
preceding the Fellowship period. 
‘‘(3) REQUIRED INTENT.—Upon completing the 
Fellowship Program, each fellow shall demonstrate 
their intent to seek employment in a mining profes-
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sion that directly benefits the growth, progress, and 
development of the United States mining industry— 
‘‘(A) in the United States Government; or 
‘‘(B) at a United States-based nongovern-
mental organization, academic institution, pri-
vate sector company, or other organization that 
has been approved by the Bureau. 
‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE UNIVERSITIES.—United States 
students shall attend universities approved by the 
Bureau, in consultation with the Committee on For-
eign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, 
that have a mining program and are located in a 
foreign country. To the extent practicable, the Bu-
reau should prioritize enrollment in higher education 
mining programs in— 
‘‘(A) member countries in the Minerals Se-
curity Partnership; or 
‘‘(B) any additional countries identified by 
the Bureau, in consultation with the congres-
sional committees referred to in this paragraph, 
as containing sufficiently qualified mining pro-
grams . 
‘‘(5) OUTREACH.—To the extent practicable, 
the Bureau shall conduct outreach at United States 
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