HouseH.R. 10681119th Congress
National Critical Minerals Council Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10681 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10681
To establish a National Critical Minerals Council within the Executive
Office of the President to develop and coordinate the implementation of
a national critical mineral and material strategy for the United
States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2026
Ms. Lee of Nevada (for herself and Mr. Fulcher) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a National Critical Minerals Council within the Executive
Office of the President to develop and coordinate the implementation of
a national critical mineral and material strategy for the United
States, 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 ``National Critical Minerals Council
Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CRITICAL MINERALS COUNCIL.
Section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (o) as subsection (p); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (n) the following:
``(o) National Critical Minerals Council.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Advisor.--The term `Advisor' means the Chief
Minerals Advisor designated under paragraph (4)(C).
``(B) Advisory council.--The term `Advisory
Council' means the National Critical Minerals Council
established under paragraph (3).
``(C) Co-chair.--The term `Co-Chair' means an
individual listed under paragraph (4)(A).
``(D) Critical mineral or material project.--The
term `critical mineral or material project' means any
project that, as a primary function or purpose,
identifies, characterizes, mines, extracts, processes,
reprocesses, reuses, or recycles critical minerals or
critical materials.
``(E) 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).
``(F) Mining school.--The term `mining school'
means--
``(i) a mining, metallurgical, geological,
or mineral engineering program accredited by
the Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology, Inc., that is located at an
institution of higher education, including a
Tribal College or University (as defined in
section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))); or
``(ii) a geology or engineering program or
department that is located at a 4-year public
institution of higher education located in a
State the gross domestic product of which in
2021 was not less than $2,000,000,000 in the
combined categories of ``Mining (except oil and
gas)'' and ``Support activities for mining'',
according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
``(G) Relevant congressional committees.--The term
`relevant congressional committees' means--
``(i) the Committees on Energy and Natural
Resources, Armed Services, and Foreign
Relations of the Senate; and
``(ii) the Committees on Natural Resources,
Energy and Commerce, Armed Services, and
Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
``(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Advisory Council are--
``(A) to develop and coordinate the implementation
of a national critical mineral and critical material
strategy for the United States to secure the critical
minerals and critical materials needed for energy
security, economic opportunity, and national defense
purposes;
``(B) to coordinate with relevant critical mineral
and critical material efforts across relevant Federal
agencies;
``(C) to reduce reliance on foreign adversaries for
critical mineral and critical material imports;
``(D) to support domestic mineral sourcing
capacity; and
``(E) to reduce single points of failure in
critical mineral and critical material supply chains of
the United States.
``(3) Establishment.--There is established in the Executive
Office of the President a National Critical Minerals Council,
to advise the Co-Chairs and Advisor.
``(4) Staff.--
``(A) Co-chairs.--The Advisory Council shall be co-
chaired by--
``(i) the Secretary (or a designee);
``(ii) the National Security Advisor (or a
designee); and
``(iii) the Director of the National
Economic Council (or a designee).
``(B) Advisor.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Co-Chairs shall designate a Chief Minerals
Advisor.
``(ii) Duties.--The Advisor shall--
``(I) carry out the day-to-day
operations of the Advisory Council;
``(II) have hiring authority for
Advisory Council staff and serve as the
principal staff director for activities
of the Advisory Council within the
Executive Office of the President;
``(III) serve as the executive
secretary of the Advisory Council; and
``(IV) report to the Co-Chairs.
``(iii) Position.--The Advisor shall be--
``(I) a Senior Executive Service
position (as defined in section 3132(a)
of title 5, United States Code) in the
Department of the Interior; or
``(II) an equivalent level official
within the Executive Office of the
President.
``(C) Membership.--The Advisory Council shall
comprise such heads of Executive agencies (as defined
in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) or their
appropriate designees, including at least 1
representative from each of--
``(i) the Department of Agriculture;
``(ii) the Department of Commerce;
``(iii) the Department of Defense;
``(iv) the Department of Energy;
``(v) the Department of the Interior;
``(vi) the Department of Labor;
``(vii) the Department of State;
``(viii) the Department of the Treasury;
``(ix) the Committee on Foreign Investment
in the United States;
``(x) the Development Finance Cooperation;
``(xi) the Environmental Protection Agency;
``(xii) the Export-Import Bank of the
United States;
``(xiii) the National Economic Council;
``(xiv) the National Security Council;
``(xv) the Office of Management and Budget;
``(xvi) the Office of Science and
Technology Policy;
``(xvii) the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence; and
``(xviii) the Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
``(5) Duties.--In carrying out this subsection, the
Advisory Council shall--
``(A) coordinate the development of interagency
policy guidance related to critical minerals and
critical materials, including guidance issued jointly
through the processes of the National Security Council
and the National Economic Council;
``(B) recommend alignment of Federal agency budget
requests with the national critical minerals and
critical materials strategy and provide advice to the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget on that
alignment;
``(C) identify duplicative or conflicting Federal
agency policies and recommend harmonization across
represented Federal agencies;
``(D) coordinate with the heads of all relevant
Federal agencies to consistently and proactively track
investments in critical mineral or material projects
and mining-related projects around the world made by
the People's Republic of China and other foreign
entities of concern, as determined by the Advisor;
``(E) take actions to improve the visibility of the
United States as a preferred partner for critical
mineral or material projects and agreements in
comparison to foreign adversaries, including
collaborating with non-United States entities and
governments from allied and partner nations;
``(F) track and advise on memoranda of
understanding or agreements with allied and partner
nations for the exchange of resources, including
financing, workforce, and innovation;
``(G) facilitate the availability, development, and
environmentally responsible production of domestic
resources to meet national critical minerals and
critical materials needs;
``(H) seek to ensure there is an evaluation and
consideration of the impact to current and future
supplies of critical minerals and critical materials in
proposed Federal agency decisionmaking with respect to
proposed decisions that have the potential for
significant positive or negative impacts to the supply
of those critical minerals and critical materials;
``(I) consult with outside experts from mining
schools and other institutions of higher education,
National Laboratories (as defined in section 2 of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)), relevant
private industries, relevant nongovernmental entities,
Indian Tribes, and investors to stay apprised of
current commercial practices, industry trends, research
trends, industry needs, and best practices for
responsible critical minerals and critical materials
sourcing;
``(J) coordinate mining and critical mineral or
material project research, development, deployment,
investment, and commercialization funding priorities
and opportunities across all relevant Federal agencies;
``(K) develop a central platform on which funding
opportunities may be viewed by private entities;
``(L) maintain a central, digitized dashboard
accessible to all agency staff, developers, and the
public, to serve as a comprehensive resource for
tracking projects and housing data across Federal
agencies, encouraging transparency and coordination;
and
``(M) coordinate mining, metallurgical, geological,
and critical mineral education and workforce
development efforts to enable implementation of the
national critical minerals and critical materials
strategy.
``(6) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Advisor, in consultation with
the Co-Chairs, shall submit to the relevant congressional
committees a report on--
``(A) the composition and function of the Advisory
Council;
``(B) a national critical mineral and critical
material strategy to achieve the purposes described in
paragraph (2); and
``(C) an implementation plan that--
``(i) describes how represented agencies
intend to carry out that national critical
mineral and critical material strategy; and
``(ii) includes clear benchmarks to
evaluate how the strategy and implementation
plan are fulfilling the purposes described in
paragraph (2).
``(7) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date the
report required under paragraph (6) is submitted, and annually
thereafter, the Advisor shall provide to the relevant
congressional committees a briefing on the progress of the
Advisory Council in executing the implementation plan and
updates to the national critical mineral and critical material
strategy described in that report.''.
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