To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals.

Mr. Speaker, if critical minerals like lithium are essential to our military and to our national security, if that is the case, then why are we still relying on our number one global adversary to supply them?

China is mining about 18 percent of all the lithium in the world. With the United States, that percentage is less than 1. As far as refining, China is about 67 percent, some estimates up to 80 percent, where the United States is at 2 percent.

For years now, the United States has been overly reliant on the communists in Beijing. It is in America's best national security interest to maintain deterrence against the CCP, not only in the Indo- Pacific, but especially here at home in our supply chains and critical industries. This is why I first introduced H.R. 3872, the MERICA Act, which would allow for the expanded extraction of critical minerals on Federal lands.

In fact, we already have some of these critical minerals in abundance. A portion of the district I am privileged to represent falls within what is known as the Smackover Formation, a geological formation that encompasses areas from east Texas all the way to the Florida panhandle.

Thanks to a recent U.S. Geological Survey-led study, we know there are an estimated 5 to 19 million tons of lithium reserves in the Smackover Formation, and it is ready for extraction.

Lithium is essential for military and defense applications. It includes batteries and power systems used in unmanned aerial systems, such as the ones planning to be assembled under the Army's SkyFoundry Initiative, which is also absolutely critical for our Nation's future defense.

Under current law, these valuable lithium deposits are locked up on Federal lands, preventing their usage. The MERICA Act would amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands by adding hardrock minerals as part of the listed deposits subject to leasing so that all federally acquired lands can be considered for hardrock mineral leasing.

The MERICA Act would also give the Secretary of the Interior the authority to follow through on President Trump's executive order by ramping up mineral extraction and production on our own Federal lands.

We can't continue to play into the hands of Beijing by granting them de facto control of the global lithium supply chain--it makes absolutely no sense--whether through domestic mines or ones they have gained through other means, such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

The demand for lithium will only continue to increase as the days go by. We must bolster our national capabilities and work to address the ever-growing burden on our Nation's power grid. By passing the MERICA Act, we would take the commonsense step to utilize Federal lands to their full and utmost potential.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues very much for their consideration. For the sake of America's security, I urge all of my colleagues in this august Chamber to support H.R. 3872.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3872) to amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3872, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3872, which would amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, clarifying that all lands acquired by the Federal Government are eligible to be considered for hardrock mineral leasing.

I thank my colleague Representative Fallon for his work on the bipartisan piece of legislation.

Acquired lands comprise 10 percent of the Nation's Federal lands, or 64 million acres. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands governs mineral leasing for a wide range of resources on these lands. However, the existing statute leaves out hardrock minerals. As a result, acquired Federal lands holding key critical minerals have effectively been locked up. This includes vast deposits in the Smackover Formation, which spans across the southeastern United States and hosts some of America's best lithium reserves.

Specifically, in northeast Texas, the Bureau of Land Management is currently unable to even consider hardrock mineral leasing for a lithium-rich portion of the Smackover Formation because it is located on land acquired by the Federal Government more than 80 years ago under a statute that does not explicitly allow hardrock mineral leasing.

H.R. 3872 would address this issue by providing a much-needed technical fix to the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, giving the Secretary of the Interior the authority to tap into our vast mineral wealth across all types of acquired lands.

As we seek to reshore our mineral supply chains, we must ensure that no stone gets left unturned. By allowing greater access to tens of millions of acres of acquired lands, this legislation would help to break our reliance on adversarial nations like China.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Fallon, for his work on this commonsense bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon), who is the lead sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a great bill that would provide a much-needed technical fix to the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands. I again thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon) for his work on this bipartisan piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3872, a bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, clarifying that all lands acquired by the Federal Government are eligible for potential hardrock mineral leasing.

Most mining on Federal lands operates under a claims system, where U.S. citizens or U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies can claim certain open areas of public land for their mineral rights. On most acquired lands, which are lands obtained through means other than the original public lands laws, like through a purchase or exchange, hardrock mineral rights are leased, similar to procedures for oil, gas, and coal. However, if the statute used to acquire that land doesn't explicitly authorize hardrock mineral leasing, then mineral leasing can't take place.

This is the case with the Department of Defense lands in Texas, specifically the Red River Army Depot, which was acquired under various statutes that did not specifically authorize hardrock leasing.

A lithium exploration company applied for a permit to explore at the Army Depot, but the Bureau of Land Management did not have the power the authorize exploration.

The company already has industrial leases on adjacent private lands, and this bill would not grant any specific permits but would give BLM the authority to issue permits and leases if appropriate.

This is a good bill. It is a technical fix that will help us potentially develop lithium resources which are essential for the clean energy transition.

I will add that this bill authorizes hardrock leasing, which is a far better and more responsible practice than the claims staking system we have across the rest of our Federal lands.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.