[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1463 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1463
To allow the Secretary of the Interior to enter into memoranda of
understanding for the purpose of scientific and technical cooperation
in the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 10, 2025
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Hickenlooper, and Mr. Cornyn)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To allow the Secretary of the Interior to enter into memoranda of
understanding for the purpose of scientific and technical cooperation
in the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Finding Opportunities for Resource
Exploration Act'' or the ``Finding ORE Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Allied foreign country.--The term ``allied foreign
country'' means a country with which the United States has
entered into a mutual defense treaty or other mutual defense
agreement.
(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.
SEC. 3. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH RESPECT TO THE MAPPING OF
CRITICAL MINERALS AND RARE EARTH ELEMENTS.
(a) 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.
(b) Objectives.--In negotiating a memorandum of understanding under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to increase the security and
resilience of international supply chains for critical minerals and
rare earth elements by--
(1) committing to assisting the partner foreign country
through cooperative activities described in subsection (c) that
help the partner foreign country map reserves of critical
minerals and rare earth elements;
(2) 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;
(3) facilitating private-sector investment in the
exploration and development of critical minerals and rare earth
elements, including by leveraging preferential financing from
entities such as the United States International Development
Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of the United
States that prioritizes projects committed to processing
minerals in the United States or an allied foreign country; and
(4) ensuring that mapping data created through the
cooperative activities described in subsection (c) is protected
against unauthorized access by, or disclosure to, governmental
or private entities based in countries that are not--
(A) a party to the memorandum of understanding; or
(B) an allied foreign country.
(c) Cooperative Activities.--The cooperative activities referred to
in subsection (b) include--
(1) acquisition, compilation, analysis, and interpretation
of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and spectroscopic remote
sensing data;
(2) prospectivity mapping and mineral resource assessment;
(3) analysis of geoscience data, including developing
derivative map products that can help more effectively evaluate
the mineral resources of the partner foreign country;
(4) 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;
(5) training and capacity building in each area described
in paragraphs (1) through (4);
(6) facilitation of education and specialized training in
geoscience and mineral resource management at institutions of
higher education;
(7) training in relevant international standards for
relevant officials of the government and private companies of
the partner foreign country; and
(8) 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.
(d) Notification to Congress.--The Secretary shall notify Congress
not later than 30 days before the Secretary intends to enter into a
memorandum of understanding under subsection (a).
(e) Collaboration With Secretary of State.--The Secretary shall
collaborate with the Secretary of State in--
(1) prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries
with which to enter into a memorandum of understanding under
subsection (a);
(2) negotiating a memorandum of understanding under
subsection (a); and
(3) implementing a memorandum of understanding entered into
under subsection (a).
(f) Consultation With Private Sector.--The Secretary shall consult
with relevant private sector actors, as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate, in--
(1) prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries
with which to enter into a memorandum of understanding under
subsection (a); and
(2) 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 subsection (b).
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