Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would help secure U.S. access to critical mineral supply chains and counter Chinese industry dominance.
The Critical Minerals Security Act would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to evaluate ownership of critical minerals and the global supply. The department would submit a report to Congress no later than one year after the bill’s enactment and every two years afterwards.
The interior secretary would be required to consult with the secretary of state to establish a process that would help U.S. companies seeking to divest stock in mining or mineral processing operations for critical minerals and rare earth elements in a foreign country. The secretary of the interior would help find another purchaser that is not under the control of a foreign entity of concern.
The secretary of the interior would be required to develop and submit a progress report to Congress outlining a method for sharing intellectual property with U.S. allies and partners that results from the development of technologies that advance clean mining, refining, separation, and processing.
U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), James Lankford (R-OK), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the bill.