S.Amdt. 397

SA 397. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. ENSURING RELIABLE SUPPLY OF RARE EARTH MINERALS.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The People's Republic of China is the global leader in
mining, refining, and component manufacturing of critical
minerals, possessing 60 percent of mine production, 85
percent of processing capacity, and 90 percent of permanent
magnet production as of 2022.
(2) In 2022, the United States was more than 50 percent
reliant on imports of 12 minerals classified as ``critical''
by the United States Geological Survey, 30 of which sourced
from the People's Republic of China.
(3) On March 26, 2014, the World Trade Organization ruled
that the People's Republic of China's export restraints on
critical minerals violated its obligations under its protocol
of accession to the World Trade Organization, thereby harming
United States manufacturers and workers.
(4) The Chinese Communist Party has threatened to leverage
the People's Republic of China's dominant position in the
critical minerals market to ``strike back'' at the United
States.
(5) The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is an effective
partnership for reliable multilateral financing, development,
and distribution of goods for global consumption, as
evidenced by the Quad Vaccine Partnership announced on March
12, 2021.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the People's Republic of China's dominant share of the
global rare earth mining market is a threat to the economic
stability, well being, and competitiveness of key industries
in the United States;
(2) the United States should reduce reliance on the
People's Republic of China for rare earth minerals through--
(A) strategic investments in development projects,
production technologies, and refining facilities in the
United States; or
(B) in partnership with strategic allies of the United
States that are reliable trading partners, including members
of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue; and
(3) the United States Trade Representative should initiate
multilateral talks among the countries of the Quadrilateral
Security Dialogue to promote shared investment and
development of rare earth minerals.
(c) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the United States Trade
Representative, in consultation with the officials specified
in paragraph (3), shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the work of the Trade
Representative to address the national security threat posed
by the People's Republic of China's control of nearly \2/3\
of the global supply of rare earth minerals.
(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) a description of the extent of the engagement of the
United States with the other countries of the Quadrilateral
Security Dialogue to promote shared investment and
development of rare earth minerals during the period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending
on the date of the report; and
(B) a description of the plans of the President to leverage
the partnership of the countries of the Quadrilateral
Security Dialogue to produce a more reliable and secure
global supply chain of rare earth minerals.
(3) Officials specified.--The official specified in this
paragraph are the following:
(A) The Secretary of State.
(B) the Secretary of Commerce.
(C) The Chief Executive Officer of the United States
International Development Finance Corporation.
(4) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Foreign
Relations, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives.
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