S.Amdt. 2922

SA 2922. Mr. COONS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1067. FINDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESOURCE EXPLORATION.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the United States should prioritize, to the greatest extent
practicable, the onshoring of critical mineral processing.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Allied foreign country.--The term ``allied foreign
country'' means a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization or a country that has been designated as a major
non-NATO ally under section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321k).
(2) 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)).
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(4) Partner foreign country.--The term ``partner foreign
country'' means a country that is a source of a critical
mineral or rare earth element.
(5) Rare earth element.--The term ``rare earth element''
means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium,
holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium,
promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium,
or yttrium.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Geological Survey.
(c) Memorandum of Understanding With Respect to the Mapping
of Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements.--
(1) Memorandum of understanding.--The Secretary may enter
into a memorandum of understanding with 1 or more heads of
agencies of partner foreign countries with respect to
scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping of
critical minerals and rare earth elements.
(2) Objectives.--In negotiating a memorandum of
understanding under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek
to increase the security and resilience of international
supply chains for critical minerals and rare earth elements
by--
(A) committing to assisting the partner foreign country
through cooperative activities described in paragraph (3)
that help the partner foreign country map reserves of
critical minerals and rare earth elements;
(B) ensuring that private companies headquartered in the
United States or an allied foreign country are offered the
right of first refusal in the further development of critical
minerals and rare earth elements in the partner foreign
country;
(C) facilitating private-sector investment in the
exploration and development of critical minerals and rare
earth elements; and
(D) ensuring that mapping data created through the
cooperative activities described in paragraph (3) is
protected against unauthorized access by, or disclosure to,
governmental or private entities based in countries that are
not--
(i) a party to the memorandum of understanding; or
(ii) an allied foreign country.
(3) Cooperative activities.--The cooperative activities
referred to in paragraph (2) include--
(A) acquisition, compilation, analysis, and interpretation
of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and spectroscopic
remote sensing data;
(B) prospectivity mapping and mineral resource assessment;
(C) analysis of geoscience data, including developing
derivative map products that can help more effectively
evaluate the mineral resources of the partner foreign
country;
(D) scientific collaboration to enhance the understanding
and management of the natural resources of the partner
foreign country to contribute to the sustainable development
of the mineral resources sector of that partner foreign
country;
(E) training and capacity building in each area described
in subparagraphs (A) through (D);
(F) facilitation of education and specialized training in
geoscience and mineral resource management at institutions of
higher education;
(G) training in relevant international standards for
relevant officials of the government and private companies of
the partner foreign country; and
(H) cooperation among entities of the partner foreign
country that are a party to the memorandum of understanding
and entities in the United States, including Federal
departments and agencies, institutions of higher education,
research centers, and private companies.
(4) Notification and report to congress.--
(A) Definition of appropriate committees of congress.--In
this paragraph, the term ``appropriate committees of
Congress'' means--
(i) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign
Relations, and Appropriations of the Senate; and
(ii) the Committees on Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs,
and Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(B) Notification and report.--Not later than 30 days before
the Secretary intends to enter into a memorandum of
understanding under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
(i) notify the appropriate committees of Congress; and
(ii) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report detailing the implementing partners, scope of the
memorandum of understanding, activities to be undertaken,
estimated costs, and source of funding.
(5) Concurrence of the secretary of state.--The Secretary
shall obtain the concurrence of the Secretary of State in--
(A) prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries
with which to enter into a memorandum of understanding under
paragraph (1);
(B) negotiating a memorandum of understanding under
paragraph (1);
(C) implementing a memorandum of understanding entered into
under paragraph (1), including through the use of funds made
available to the Secretary of State; and
(D) carrying out paragraph (4).
(6) Consultation with private sector.--The Secretary shall
consult with relevant private sector actors, as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate, in--
(A) prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries
with which to enter into a memorandum of understanding under
paragraph (1); and
(B) assessing how a memorandum of understanding can best
facilitate private sector interest in pursuing the further
development of critical minerals and rare earth elements in
accordance with the objectives described in paragraph (2).
(d) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section impedes or
otherwise alters any authority of the Director of the United
States Geological Survey provided by--
(1) the matter under the heading ``GEOLOGICAL SURVEY'' of
the first section of the Act of March 3, 1879 (43 U.S.C.
31(a)); or
(2) the first section of Public Law 87-626 (43 U.S.C.
31(b)).
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