Kaine, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Critical Mineral Supply Chains

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in introducing the Critical Mineral Executive Coordination Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen U.S. critical mineral supply chains and reduce reliance on China by improving diplomatic training and coordination across the federal government.

"We need critical minerals to build chips for everything from our smartphones to our national defense apparatus. The U.S. must not cede control of global critical mineral supply chains to China," said Kaine. "That is why I'm glad to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation to establish a dedicated executive branch critical minerals czar and marshal our diplomatic corps' expertise in this area. This commonsense and overdue step is crucial to our national security and retaining our technological edge, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to support this legislation."

The Critical Mineral Executive Coordination Act would establish a Foreign Service Institute training program to help Foreign Service Officers advance U.S. economic and national security interests related to critical minerals and strategic competition with China. The bill would also establish a permanent Special Advisor to the President for Critical Minerals and Supply Chains within the National Security Council to coordinate a government-wide critical minerals strategy.

The legislation also advances two provisions of the DOMINANCE Act, a bill led by U.S. Representatives Ami Bera (D-CA-06) and Young Kim (R-CA-40) that passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support.

In addition to Kaine, Scott, and Warnock, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Coons (D-DE), and John Curtis (R-UT).

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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