WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is introducing bipartisan legislation to help secure U.S. access to critical mineral supply chains and reduce China’s influence in America’s economy. The Critical Minerals Security Act would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to evaluate the global supply and ownership of critical minerals, establish a process to assist U.S. companies seeking to divest critical minerals operations in foreign countries, and develop a method for sharing intellectual property for clean mining and processing technologies with U.S. allies and partners.

Critical minerals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, are necessary inputs for technologies that play critical roles in our national security, including military equipment and defense systems, as well as emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and storage for our power grid. Unfortunately, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) currently dominates the mining, processing, and manufacturing of the majority of these minerals — raising significant economic and national security concerns. To combat the dominance of the PRC, this legislation would ensure a secure supply of these minerals.

“Critical minerals are essential to America’s national security and energy resiliency since these raw materials are used to power everything from complex military technologies to personal goods like smartphones,” said Senator King. “The bipartisan Critical Minerals Security Act would help us better understand and leverage the rare earth minerals supply chain, while also reducing our continued reliance on China and other bad actors for these minerals. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for recognizing the importance of strengthening American industry to build jobs here at home and countering supply chain control of these minerals by foreign adversaries.”

The Critical Minerals Security Act would direct the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to submit a report to Congress no later than one year after enactment and every two years afterwards on all critical mineral and rare earth element (REE) resources around the world that includes:

• Which resources are controlled by the U.S., an ally or partner, or a foreign entity of concern;
• From which mines critical minerals and REEs are being extracted and estimates of their output volumes;
• Which foreign entities of concern are involved in mining critical minerals and REEs;
• Which entities in the U.S. and countries that are allies or partners are involved in mining critical minerals and REEs;
• An assessment, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with countries in which mines or mineral processing operations are located and operated by other countries to ensure U.S. access;
• A compilation, prepared in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, of cases in which entities were forced to divest stock in mining or processing operations for critical minerals and REEs based on government rulings of a foreign entity of concern;
• Cases in which the government of a foreign entity of concern purchased an entity forced to divest stock;
• And cases in which mining or processing operations for critical minerals and REEs were not subject to a government ruling but were taken over by a foreign entity of concern.

Senator King is joined by U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Warner (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO).

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Senator King is committed to advancing American competitiveness in 21st century technologies and reducing America’s reliance on fossil fuels while improving national security and strengthening cyberdefenses. Senator King is the co-chair of the Senate Semiconductor Caucus, and has been one of the Senate’s leading advocates for improving battery technology and recycling as a way to strengthen national security and create good-paying American jobs. He previously introduced the Battery Material Processing and Component Manufacturing Act, to boost domestic production of batteries, and the Battery and Critical Mineral Recycling Act of 2021, to incentivize the recycling of single use and rechargeable batteries. 

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