119-hr4090

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4090 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4090

 To codify certain provisions of certain Executive Orders relating to 
domestic mining and hardrock mineral resources, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 23, 2025

 Mr. Stauber introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To codify certain provisions of certain Executive Orders relating to 
domestic mining and hardrock mineral resources, 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. POLICY.

 It is the policy of the United States to establish the position of 
the United States as the leading producer of hardrock minerals, 
including rare earth minerals, which will--

    (1) create jobs and prosperity at home;

    (2) strengthen supply chains for the United States and the 
 allies of the United States;

    (3) safeguard the national Security of the United States; 
 and

    (4) reduce the global influence of malign and adversarial 
 states.

SEC. 2. ANALYZING ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF MINERAL NET IMPORT RELIANCE.

    (a) Cost of Net Import Reliance.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate--

    (1) for each mineral commodity included in the document 
 published by the United States Geological Survey titled 
 ``Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025'' (Version 1.2; March 2025) 
 for which the United States is reliant on imports, the dollar 
 value associated with such reliance; and

    (2) the overall impact on the economy of the United States 
 of imports and exports of mineral commodities listed in the 
 document published by the United States Geological Survey 
 titled ``Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025'' (Version 1.2; March 
 2025) for which the United States is reliant on imports.

    (b) Subsequent Inclusion.--Beginning in 2026, the Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, shall 
include in each Mineral Commodity Summaries published by the United 
States Geological Survey the information described in paragraphs

    (1) and

    (2) of subsection

    (a) .

SEC. 3. PRIORITY PROJECTS.

    (a) Project Identification.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 10 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 
 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
 shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
 Resources of the Senate a list of each mining project on 
 Federal land for which a plan of operations, a permit 
 application, or other application for approval has been 
 submitted to the Department of the Interior.

    (2) Approval of certain projects.--Not later than 10 days 
 after the date on which the Secretary submits the list required 
 under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary shall, in consultation with 
 the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to each mining 
 project included on the list--
        (A) identify each priority mining project for which 
 the Secretary can immediately approve or issue each 
 plan of operations, permit application, and other 
 application for approval submitted to the Department of 
 the Interior; and
        (B) take all necessary and appropriate actions to 
 expedite and approve or issue each such plan of 
 operations, permit application, and other application 
 for approval.

    (b) Identification of Potential Hardrock Mineral and Byproduct 
Production.--Not later than 10 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Agriculture, shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a list of each mining project on Federal land, 
whether active, inactive, or proposed, that has the potential to--

    (1) increase production of hardrock minerals or the 
 byproducts of hardrock minerals;

    (2) expand operations to include the byproducts of hardrock 
 minerals; or

    (3) produce hardrock minerals from mine tailings.

SEC. 4. MINING POTENTIAL ON FEDERAL LAND.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall identify all Federal land 
managed by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, which may be 
leased for the exploration, development, or production of hardrock 
minerals or is open to location under the Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly 
known as the Mining Law of 1872), where--

    (1) hardrock mineral exploration is being conducted;

    (2) the Secretary, in consultation with the United States 
 Geological Survey, determines hardrock minerals may be present 
 but where thorough exploration has not been conducted; or

    (3) known economically recoverable hardrock minerals are 
 present.

    (b) Priority.--In identifying Federal land under subsection

    (a) , 
the Secretary shall prioritize identifying Federal land on which the 
exploration, construction, or operation of a mining project--

    (1) can most quickly be fully permitted and operational; 
 and

    (2) would have the greatest potential effect on the 
 robustness of the domestic mineral supply chain.
            (c) Submission of List.--The Secretary shall annually submit to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a list of all 
Federal land identified under subsection

    (a) .

SEC. 5. REGULATORY REVIEW.

    (a) Identifying Burdensome Federal Regulations.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall--

    (1) review all existing regulations, orders, guidance 
 documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, public land 
 withdrawals, and any other agency actions within the 
 jurisdiction of the Secretary (in this section referred to 
 collectively as ``agency action'') to identify each agency 
 action that imposes an undue burden on the exploration, 
 identification, development, or operation of domestic mining 
 projects;

    (2) solicit industry feedback on regulatory bottlenecks and 
 recommended strategies to expedite approval of mining projects 
 on Federal land; and

    (3) begin implementing an action plan--
        (A) to implement industry feedback received 
 pursuant to paragraph

    (2) ; and
        (B) suspend, revise, or rescind, as applicable, 
 each agency action identified as unduly burdensome 
 under paragraph

    (1) as expeditiously as possible.

    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to Congress a report including--

    (1) recommendations for changes to law in effect as of the 
 date of the enactment of this Act necessary to accomplish the 
 policy described in 

section 1; and

    (2) a nationwide review of State and local statutes, 
 regulations, and ordinances the Secretary determines impede 
 development of domestic mining and mineral exploration 
 projects.

SEC. 6. MAP BABY MAP.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall prioritize efforts to 
accelerate the ongoing, detailed geologic mapping of the United States, 
with a focus on mapping previously unknown deposits of hardrock 
minerals.

    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report regarding the progress and 
estimated completion date of the comprehensive national modern surface 
and subsurface mapping and data integration effort of the Department of 
the Interior described in 

section 40201 of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (43 U.S.C. 311).

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
        (A) National Forest System land;
        (B) public lands; and
            (C) any land that may be leased for the 
 exploration, development, or production of hardrock 
 minerals.

    (2) Hardrock mineral.--The term ``hardrock mineral''--
        (A) includes deposits of--
            (i) minerals found in sedimentary or other 
 rocks;
            (ii) base metals;
            (iii) precious metals;
            (iv) industrial metals; and
            (v) precious and semi-precious gemstones; 
 and
        (B) does not include deposits of--
            (i) coal;
            (ii) oil;
            (iii) oil shale;
            (iv) gas;
            (v) sodium;
            (vi) potassium;
            (vii) sulfur; or
            (viii) mineral materials subject to 
 disposition under the Act of July 31, 1947, 
 commonly known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 
 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

    (3) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the 
 meaning given the term in 

section 103 of the Federal Land 
 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).

    (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of the Interior.
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