Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act

Bill: 118-hr-7807
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23]
Introduced: 2024-03-22
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Advisory bodies

Asia

China

Congressional oversight

Europe

Government information and archives

Homeland security

Intergovernmental relations

Iran

Metals

Middle East

Mining

North Korea

Research and development

Russia

Strategic materials and reserves
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-19
text: Subcommittee Hearings Held

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7807 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 22, 2024 Mr. Obernolte introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To create intergovernmental coordination between State, local, Tribal, and territorial jurisdictions, and the Federal Government to combat United States reliance on the People’s Republic of China and other covered countries for critical minerals and rare earth metals, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act . 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) current supply chains of critical minerals pose a great risk to the national security of the United States; (2) critical minerals are necessary for transportation, technology, renewable energy, military equipment and machinery, and other relevant sectors crucial for the homeland and national security of the United States; (3) in 2022, the United States was 100 percent import reliant for 12 out of 50 critical minerals and more than 50 percent import reliant for an additional 31 critical mineral commodities classified as critical by the United States Geological Survey, and the People’s Republic of China was the top producing nation for 30 of those 50 critical minerals; (4) as of July 2023, companies based in the People’s Republic of China that extract critical minerals around the world have received hundreds of charges of human rights violations; and (5) on March 26, 2014, the World Trade Organization ruled that the export restraints by the People’s Republic of China on rare earth metals violated obligations under the protocol of accession to the World Trade Organization, which harmed manufacturers and workers in the United States. 3. Intergovernmental critical minerals task force (a) In general Section 5 of the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 ( 30 U.S.C. 1604 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (g) Intergovernmental critical minerals task force (1) Purposes The purposes of the task force established under paragraph (3)(B) are— (A) to assess the reliance of the United States on the People’s Republic of China, and other covered countries, for critical minerals, and the resulting national security risks associated with that reliance, at each level of the Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and territorial governments; (B) to make recommendations to the President for the implementation of this Act with regard to critical minerals, including— (i) the congressional declarations of policies in section 3; and (ii) revisions to the program plan of the President and the initiatives required under this section; (C) to make recommendations to secure United States and global supply chains for critical minerals; (D) to make recommendations to reduce the reliance of the United States, and partners and allies of the United States, on critical mineral supply chains involving covered countries; and (E) to facilitate cooperation, coordination, and mutual accountability among each level of the Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and territorial governments, on a holistic response to the dependence on covered countries for critical minerals across the United States. (2) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (i) the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Finance, and Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (ii) the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Natural Resources, Armed Services, Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (B) Chair The term Chair means a member of the Executive Office of the President, designated by the President pursuant to paragraph (3)(A). (C) Covered country The term covered country means— (i) a covered nation (as defined in section 4872(d) of title 10, United States Code); and (ii) any other country determined by the task force to be a geostrategic competitor or adversary of the United States with respect to critical minerals. (D) Critical mineral The term critical mineral has the meaning given the term in section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 30 U.S.C. 1606(a) ). (E) Indian Tribe The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ). (F) Task force The term task force means the task force established under paragraph (3)(B). (3) Establishment Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the President shall— (A) designate a Chair for the task force; and (B) acting through the Executive Office of the President, establish a task force. (4) Composition; meetings (A) Appointment The Chair, in consultation with key intergovernmental, private, and public sector stakeholders, shall appoint to the task force representatives with expertise in critical mineral supply chains from Federal agencies, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and territorial governments, including not less than 1 representative from each of— (i) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; (ii) the Bureau of Land Management; (iii) the Critical Minerals Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council; (iv) the Department of Agriculture; (v) the Department of Commerce; (vi) the Department of Defense; (vii) the Department of Energy; (viii) the Department of Homeland Security; (ix) the Department of the Interior; (x) the Department of Labor; (xi) the Department of State; (xii) the Department of Transportation; (xiii) the Environmental Protection Agency; (xiv) the Export-Import Bank of the United States; (xv) the Forest Service; (xvi) the General Services Administration; (xvii) the National Science Foundation; (xviii) the Office of the United States Trade Representative; (xix) the United States International Development Finance Corporation; (xx) the United States Geological Survey; and (xxi) any other relevant Federal entity, as determined by the Chair. (B) Consultation The task force shall consult individuals with expertise in critical mineral supply chains, individuals from States whose communities, businesses, and industries are involved in aspects of critical mineral supply chains, including mining and processing operations, and individuals from a diverse and balanced cross-section of— (i) intergovernmental consultees, including— (I) State governments; (II) local governments; (III) territorial governments; and (IV) Indian Tribes; and (ii) other stakeholders, including— (I) academic research institutions; (II) corporations; (III) nonprofit organizations; (IV) private sector stakeholders; (V) trade associations; (VI) mining industry stakeholders; and (VII) labor representatives. (C) Meetings (i) Initial meeting Not later than 90 days after the date on which all representatives of the task force have been appointed, the task force shall hold the first meeting of the task force. (ii) Frequency The task force shall meet not less than once every 90 days. (5) Duties (A) In general The duties of the task force shall include— (i) facilitating cooperation, coordination, and mutual accountability for the Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and territorial governments to enhance data sharing and transparency to build more robust and secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals in support of the purposes described in paragraph (1); (ii) providing recommendations with respect to— (I) increasing capacities for mining, processing, refinement, reuse, and recycling of critical minerals in the United States to facilitate the environmentally responsible production of domestic resources to meet national critical mineral needs, in consultation with Tribal and local communities; (II) identifying how statutes, regulations, and policies related to the critical mineral supply chain, such as stockpiling and development finance, could be modified to accelerate environmentally responsible domestic and international production of critical minerals, in consultation with Indian Tribes and local communities; (III) strengthening the domestic workforce to support growing critical mineral supply chains with good-paying, safe jobs in the United States; (IV) identifying alternative domestic and global sources to critical minerals that the United States currently relies on the People’s Republic of China or other covered countries for mining, processing, refining, and recycling, including the availability, cost, and quality of those domestic alternatives; (V) identifying critical minerals and critical mineral supply chains that the United States can onshore, at a competitive availability, cost, and quality, for those minerals and supply chains that the United States relies on the People’s Republic of China or other covered countries to provide; (VI) opportunities for the Federal Government, Indian Tribes, and State, local, and territorial governments to mitigate risks to the national security of the United States with respect to supply chains for critical minerals that the United States currently relies on the People’s Republic of China or other covered countries for mining, processing, refining, and recycling; and (VII) evaluating and integrating the recommendations of the Critical Minerals Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council into the recommendations of the task force; (iii) prioritizing the recommendations in clause (ii), taking into consideration economic costs and focusing on the critical mineral supply chains with vulnerabilities posing the most significant risks to the national security of the United States; (iv) recommending specific strategies, to be carried out in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, to strengthen international partnerships in furtherance of critical minerals supply chain security with international allies and partners, including a strategy to collaborate with governments of the allies and partners described in subparagraph (B) to develop advanced mining, refining, separation and processing technologies; and (v) other duties, as determined by the Chair. (B) Allies and partners The allies and partners referred to in subparagraph (A) include— (i) countries participating in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue; (ii) countries that are— (I) signatories to the Abraham Accords; or (II) participants in the Negev Forum; (iii) countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and (iv) other countries or multilateral partnerships the task force determines to be appropriate. (C) Report The Chair shall— (i) not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, and every 60 days thereafter until the requirements under subsection (a) are satisfied, brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the status of the compliance of the President with completing the requirements under that subsection; (ii) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report, which shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, that describes any findings, guidelines, and recommendations created in performing the duties under subparagraph (A); (iii) not later than 120 days after the date on which the Chair submits the report under clause (ii), publish that report in the Federal Register and on the website of the Office of Management and Budget, except that the Chair shall redact information from the report that the Chair determines could pose a risk to the national security of the United States by being publicly available; and (iv) brief the appropriate committees of Congress twice per year. (6) Sunset The task force shall terminate on the date that is 90 days after the date on which the task force completes the requirements under paragraph (5)(C). . (b) GAO study (1) Study required The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study examining the Federal and State regulatory landscape related to improving domestic supply chains for critical minerals in the United States. (2) Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the results of the study under paragraph (1). (3) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (i) the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Finance, and Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (ii) the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Natural Resources, Armed Services, Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (B) Critical mineral The term critical mineral has the meaning given the term in section 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 30 U.S.C. 1606(a) ).