Text of Senate Amendment 5976

On 2026-06-23, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5976" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5976

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3113-S3115] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5976. Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. Kaine) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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 title XII, add the following: Subtitle F--Legal Gold and Mining Partnership SEC. 1271. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the ``United States Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Act''. SEC. 1272. FINDINGS. Congress makes the following findings: (1) The illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold in the Western Hemisphere-- (A) negatively affects the region's economic and social dynamics; (B) strengthens transnational criminal organizations and other international illicit actors; and (C) has a deleterious impact on the environment, indigenous peoples, and food security. (2) A lack of economic opportunities and the weak rule of law promote illicit activities, such as illicit gold mining, which increases the vulnerability of individuals in mining areas, including indigenous communities, which have been subjected to trafficking in persons, other human rights abuses, and population displacement in relation to mining activity, particularly in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector. (3) Illicit gold mining in Latin America often involves and benefits transnational criminal organizations, drug trafficking organizations, terrorist groups, and other illegal armed groups that extort miners and enter into illicit partnerships with them in order to gain revenue from the illicit activity. (4) Illicit gold supply chains are international in nature and frequently involve-- (A) the smuggling of gold and supplies, such as mercury; (B) trade-based money laundering; and (C) other cross-border flows of illicit assets. (5) In Latin America, mineral traders and exporters, local processors, and shell companies linked to transnational criminal networks and illegally armed groups all play a key role in the trafficking, laundering, and commercialization of illicit gold from the region. (6) According to a report on illegally mined gold in Latin America by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime-- (A) more than 70 percent of the gold mined in several Latin American countries, such as Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, is mined through illicit means; and (B) about 80 percent of the gold mined in Venezuela is mined through illicit means and a large percentage of such gold is sold-- (i) to Mibiturven, a joint venture operated by authorities in Venezuela and composed of Minerven, a gold processor that has been designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury, pursuant to Executive Order 13850 (relating to blocking property of additional persons contributing to the situation in Venezuela), and Marilyns Proje Yatirim, S.A., which is a Turkish company; or (ii) through other trafficking and commercialization networks from which authorities in Venezuela benefit financially. (7) Illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (National Liberation Army--ELN), work with transnational criminal organizations in Venezuela that participate in the illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold. (8) Transnational criminal organizations based in Venezuela, such as El Tren de Aragua, have expanded their role in the illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold to increase their criminal profits. (9) Nicaragua's gold exports during 2023 were valued at an estimated $1,240,000,000, of which-- (A) gold valued at an estimated $637,000,000 was shipped to the United States; (B) gold valued at an estimated $353,000,000 was shipped to Canada; (C) gold valued at an estimated $244,000,000 was shipped to Switzerland; and (D) gold valued at an estimated $6,560,000 was shipped to Italy. (10) U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recognized that illegal logging is the [[Page S3114]] world's most profitable natural resource crime and that profits from illegal logging finance illegal mining. SEC. 1273. DEFINITIONS. In this subtitle: (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; (C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; (D) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; (E) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; (G) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and (H) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. (2) Artisanal and small-scale mining; asm.--The terms ``artisanal and small-scale mining'' and ``ASM'' refer to a form of mining common in the developing world that-- (A) typically employs rudimentary, simple, and low-cost extractive technologies and manual labor-intensive techniques; (B) is frequently subject to limited regulation; and (C) often features harsh and dangerous working conditions. (3) Key stakeholders.--The term ``key stakeholders'' means private sector organizations, industry representatives, and civil society groups that represent communities in areas affected by illicit mining and trafficking of gold, including indigenous groups, that are committed to the implementation of the Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy. (4) Legal gold and mining partnership strategy; strategy.-- The terms ``Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy'' and ``Strategy'' mean the strategy developed pursuant to section 1274. (5) Relevant federal departments and agencies.--The term ``relevant Federal departments and agencies'' means the Department of State and all other Federal departments and agencies designated by the President as having significant domestic or foreign affairs equities in countering illicit mining. (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of State. SEC. 1274. LEGAL GOLD AND MINING PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY. (a) Strategy Required.--The Secretary, in coordination with the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall develop a comprehensive, multi-year strategy, which shall be known as the Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy, to combat illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere. (b) Elements.--The Strategy shall include policies, programs, and initiatives-- (1) to interrupt the linkages between gold mining, including ASM, and illicit actors that profit from illicit mining in the Western Hemisphere; (2) to deter ASM in environmentally protected areas, such as national parks and conservation zones, to prevent mining- related contamination of critical natural resources, such as water resources, soil, tropical forests, and other flora and fauna, and aerosol contamination linked to detrimental health impacts; (3) to counter the financing and enrichment of actors involved in the illicit mining, trafficking, and commercialization of gold, and the abetting of their activities by-- (A) promoting the exercise of due diligence and the use of responsible sourcing methods in the purchase and trade of ASM; (B) preventing and prohibiting foreign persons who control commodity trading chains linked to illicit actors from enjoying the benefits of access to the territory, markets or financial system of the United States, and halting any such ongoing activity by such foreign persons; (C) combating related impunity afforded to illicit actors by addressing corruption in government institutions and interrupting linkages between corrupt officials and illicit actors that exploit ASM miners; (D) supporting the capacity of financial intelligence units, customs agencies, and other government institutions focused on anti-money laundering initiatives and combating the financing of criminal activities and terrorism to exercise oversight consistent with the threats posed by illicit gold mining; and (E) working with the governments and appropriate institutions of countries that host gold refineries or processing centers to deter the importation of illicit gold and implement greater due diligence practices; (4) to build the capacity of foreign civilian law enforcement institutions in the Western Hemisphere to effectively counter-- (A) linkages between illicit gold mining, illicit actors, money laundering, and other financial crimes, including trade-based money laundering; (B) linkages between illicit gold mining, illicit actors, trafficking in persons, and forced or coerced labor, including sex work and child labor; (C) linkages between illicit gold mining, illicit actors, and the illegal timber trade; (D) the cross-border trafficking of illicit gold, and the mercury, cyanide, explosives, and other hazardous materials used in illicit gold mining, particularly those originating in China or trafficked by transnational criminal organizations; and (E) surveillance and investigation of illicit and related activities that are related to or are indicators of illicit gold mining activities; (5) to ensure the successful implementation of the existing Memoranda of Understanding signed with the Governments of Peru and of Colombia in 2017 and 2018, respectively, to expand bilateral cooperation to combat illicit gold mining; (6) to work with governments in the Western Hemisphere, bolster the effectiveness of anti-money laundering efforts to combat the financing o