Congress & National Security

A bipartisan group in Congress is set to introduce the SECURE Minerals Act on Thursday, proposing a $2.5 billion "Strategic Resilience Reserve" (SRR) to buy, store and manage supplies of critical minerals that underpin U.S. semiconductor, EV battery and high‑tech manufacturing. Sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D‑N.H.) and Todd Young (R‑Ind.), with Reps. John Moolenaar (R‑Mich.) and Rob Wittman (R‑Va.) in the House, the bill would create a seven‑member presidentially appointed, Senate‑confirmed board to run the SRR as a hybrid of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Federal Reserve, operating both physical storage sites and a market clearinghouse. Lawmakers frame the move as a national and economic security response to China’s dominance of global critical‑mineral supply chains, saying the U.S. is vulnerable to price shocks and coercion that could hit chipmaking, autos and aerospace. The $2.5 billion is billed as an initial capitalization, with the option for Congress to appropriate more if the reserve proves effective, and the measure would sit alongside Trump administration efforts to secure minerals through aggressive deals and pressure in places like Ukraine, Venezuela and Greenland. If enacted, the SRR would mark a major new federal intervention into mineral markets, echoing the CHIPS and Science Act’s attempt to rebuild domestic capacity in another strategic sector.