Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7037, the Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies Act, or the DOMINANCE Act.

Over the past year, through hearings, briefings, and engagement with industry, government, and our international partners, one fact has become increasingly clear: Securing reliable access to critical minerals is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it is an American issue.

Today, the People's Republic of China controls roughly 90 percent of global rare earth processing capacity. That concentration creates a strategic vulnerability for the United States and our allies, and Beijing has demonstrated its willingness to leverage that dominance through export restrictions and other forms of economic coercion.

The United States must continue expanding domestic mining, processing, refining, and recycling capacity. However, building secure and resilient supply chains cannot be accomplished by the United States acting alone. We need stronger partnerships with trusted allies and partners. We need coordinated investment strategies, and we need a whole-of-government approach that aligns our diplomatic, development, and economic tools to reduce dependence on vulnerable supply chains.

This is exactly what the DOMINANCE Act does. The bill establishes a Bureau of Energy Security and Diplomacy at the Department of State, led by a Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary. This Bureau will serve as the focal point for U.S. international energy and critical minerals policy, ensuring greater coordination across agencies and stronger engagement with allies and partners.

This diplomatic capacity is increasingly important in a world where geopolitical instability, such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, can disrupt energy markets with significant economic consequences for our country and our constituents.

Second, the legislation formally authorizes the United States' participation in the Forum on Resource Geostrategic Engagement, or FORGE. FORGE builds upon the successful work of the Biden administration's Minerals Security Partnership by bringing together like-minded countries to coordinate investments, share information, and advance strategic partnerships and projects that strengthen supply chain resilience.

Authorizing U.S. participation ensures that America remains at the table, working with our partners to diversify sources of critical minerals and reduce reliance on strategic competitors.

Third, the bill creates energy security pacts that align the capabilities of the State Department, the Development Finance Corporation, EXIM, USTDA, MCC, the Department of Commerce, and other agencies in support of strategic energy and mineral projects overseas.

These partnerships will help mobilize private sector investment, strengthen economic resilience, support developing economies, and counter efforts by authoritarian governments to use economic dependence as a tool of coercion.

The legislation also invests in the workforce needed to secure our energy future. It expands educational and workforce development opportunities through initiatives such as the Critical Minerals Mining Fellowship Program and the Visiting Mining Scholars Program, helping develop the expertise needed to support secure and sustainable mineral supply chains.

Lastly, the bill strengthens U.S. diplomatic and national security capacity by expanding Foreign Service Institute training on energy and critical minerals issues and by codifying a special adviser for critical minerals and supply chains on the National Security Council to help coordinate a whole-of- government strategy.

Taken together, these provisions represent a comprehensive approach to one of the most important strategic challenges facing our country.

The DOMINANCE Act sends a clear message that the United States is committed to working with allies and partners to build secure, diversified, and resilient critical mineral supply chains. It also provides the certainty that businesses and investors need to make long- term investments in transparent, sustainable, and secure energy and mineral projects around the world.

I thank Chairwoman Young Kim for her partnership on this important bill. I am proud that this bill received a unanimous vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will strengthen critical mineral supply chains by bolstering U.S. cooperation with our allies and partners, instituting needed reforms at the State Department, and making our supply chains more resilient and less susceptible to the type of choke holds that the PRC has employed against us.

The DOMINANCE Act is a critical step forward.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. I thank the partnership of Chairwoman Kim as well as Chairman Mast and all the others who put this legislation together.

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