‘‘(v) build and strengthen networks 
with international peers, faculty, and in-
dustry professionals to facilitate ongoing 
collaboration and knowledge exchange; and 
‘‘(C) the Bureau shall, for each fellow, ap-
prove a work plan that identifies the target ob-
jectives for the fellow, including specific duties 
and responsibilities relating to those objectives. 
‘‘(2) FELLOWSHIP PERIOD.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each fellowship under 
this section shall continue for a period deter-
mined by the Bureau, which, whenever feasible, 
may not be less than one year. 
‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—A renewal for a second 
year may be granted only with the approval of 
the Bureau in consultation with a United 
States embassy or the Fulbright Commission. 
‘‘(f) FELLOWSHIP AWARD.—The Bureau shall pro-
vide each fellow in the Fellowship Program with an allow-
ance that is equal to the amount needed for the fellow’s 
reasonable costs during the fellowship period, including— 
‘‘(1) mandatory university fees, including tui-
tion, associated with graduate study; 
‘‘(2) living expenses, including housing, basic 
food costs, and daily transportation; 
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‘‘(3) essential textbooks and other academic 
materials; 
‘‘(4) mandatory visa application, immigration 
fees, and other essential pre-departure requirements; 
‘‘(5) relocation expenses, including airline and 
rail travel; 
‘‘(6) research allowance, including essential 
travel to field sites and laboratory work; and 
‘‘(7) other reasonable costs approved by the Bu-
reau. 
‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than one year after the 
date of completion of the Fellowship Program by the ini-
tial cohort of fellows selected under subsection (d), and 
annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate a report providing information on the imple-
mentation of the Fellowship Program, including— 
‘‘(1) the demographics and geographical origins 
of the fellows who completed a Fellowship Program 
fellowship during the preceding 1-year period; 
‘‘(2) a description of the academic placements 
of the fellows and the relation of such placements to 
the development of United States region-specific spe-
cialties under the Fellowship Program, including 
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participant feedback on program implementation 
and feedback on lessons learned; and 
‘‘(3) a plan for factoring lessons learned and 
acquired skills based knowledge into future Fellow-
ship Program programming.’’. 
SEC. 304. VISITING MINING SCHOLARS PROGRAM. 
The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), as amended by section 
303, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 117. VISITING MINING SCHOLARS PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is authorized to be es-
tablished the Visiting Scholars Mining Program (referred 
to in this section as the ‘Visiting Scholars Program’) with-
in the J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Pro-
gram. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Visiting Schol-
ars Program is to bring mining academics and profes-
sionals to the United States to— 
‘‘(1) build and expand the United States mining 
education programs at institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
‘‘(2) bolster workforce development programs; 
and 
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‘‘(3) advance research and development initia-
tives in the mining industry and adjacent fields. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Bureau of Educational 
and Cultural Affairs (referred to in this section as the ‘Bu-
reau’) shall administer the Visiting Scholars Program in 
accordance with policy guidelines established by the Ful-
bright Foreign Scholarship Board (referred to in this sec-
tion as the ‘Board’), in consultation with binational Ful-
bright Commissions, mining industry leaders, institutions 
of higher education, foreign governments, and United 
States Embassies in the foreign countries described in 
clause (i) or (ii) of subsection (d)(3)(B). 
‘‘(d) SELECTION OF VISITING MINING SCHOLARS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Board shall select 
qualified individuals to participate in the Visiting 
Scholars Program, each of whom is not a citizen of 
the United States and— 
‘‘(A) is employed as a mining professional, 
practitioner, or operator in a foreign country; or 
‘‘(B) is employed as an academic working 
at an institution of higher education in a for-
eign country with a mining education program, 
as approved by a Fulbright Commission or 
United States embassy, in consultation with the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
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Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) NUMBER OF FELLOWS.—The Bureau shall 
determine the number of fellows selected each year, 
which, whenever feasible, shall be not fewer than 10. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE VISITING MINING SCHOLARS.— 
‘‘(A) 
REQUIREMENTS.—Visiting 
mining 
scholars may not be citizens of the United 
States, and shall be— 
‘‘(i) a citizen of a country where an-
other Fulbright Foreign Student Program 
operates; and 
‘‘(ii) a citizen of a country that has 
expertise or specialized knowledge or en-
gages in practices that could benefit the 
mining industry. 
‘‘(B) PREFERRED COUNTRIES.—To the ex-
tent practicable, the Board should prioritize se-
lection of visiting mining scholars who live or 
work in— 
‘‘(i) a member country of the Minerals 
Security Partnership; or 
‘‘(ii) any country identified by the Bu-
reau, in consultation with the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
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