Finding ORE Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2969 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2969

   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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 17, 2025

  Mr. Wittman (for himself, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Lawler, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Gimenez, Ms. Stevens, and
   Mr. Torres of New York) introduced the following bill; which was
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 environmental and workplace 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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