S. 1463 119th Congress Senate

Finding ORE Act

Official title: A bill to allow the Secretary of the Interior to enter into memoranda of understanding for the purpose of scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping o… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to allow the Secretary of the Interior to enter into memoranda of understanding for the purpose of scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 10, 2025 Introduced by: Christopher A. Coons Democratic · Delaware See on congress.gov

Energy Employment and training programsGeography and mappingMaterialsMetals

More subjectsShow fewer subjects

MiningPublic-private cooperationStrategic materials and reserves

Everywhere this bill has been 5 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jun 18, 2025

Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Risch with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.

Jun 18, 2025

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 93.

Jun 5, 2025

Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

Apr 10, 2025

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Apr 10, 2025

Introduced in Senate

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What's happening now June 18, 2025

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 93.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Finding Opportunities for Resource Exploration Act or the Finding ORE Act

This bill allows the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to partner with a foreign country in mapping the country's reserves of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

A critical mineral is any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by USGS because it is essential to U.S. economic and national security, has a vulnerable supply chain, and serves an essential function in manufacturing a product. Rare earth elements have catalytic, magnetic, electrical, and luminescent properties vital for civilian and defense purposes.

In negotiating a MOU, USGS must seek to increase the security and resilience of international supply chains for critical minerals and rare earth elements by

committing to assisting the partner foreign country through cooperative activities that help it map reserves;
ensuring that private companies headquartered in the United States or an allied foreign country are offered the right of first refusal in the further development of critical minerals and rare earth elements in the partner foreign country;
facilitating private-sector investment in the exploration and development of critical minerals and rare earth elements; and
ensuring that the mapping data is protected against unauthorized access by, or disclosure to, governmental or private entities based in non-allied countries.

USGS must obtain the concurrence of the Department of State in

prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries,
negotiating or implementing a MOU, and
notifying and reporting to Congress about issues related to a MOU.

Hearings & markups 1

Business meeting to consider S.1397, to require the Secretary of State to establish a quantum cooperation program to en…
Meeting Jun 5, 2025 · 10:30 AM EDT · Foreign Relations Committee

Related & companion bills 1

Bill text 2 versions

Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Reported to Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Foreign Relations Committee
Senate

Lobbying activity 8

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION
for NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION · District of Columbia · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION
for NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION · District of Columbia · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION
for NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION · District of Columbia · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION
for NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION · District of Columbia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION
for NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION · District of Columbia · 3rd Quarter 2025 (July 1 - Sep 30)
EARTHJUSTICE ACTION
for EARTHJUSTICE ACTION · District of Columbia · 2nd Quarter 2025 (Apr 1 - June 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8 filings
Interior, Dept of (DOI)
8 filings
SENATE
8 filings
Energy, Dept of
7 filings
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
7 filings
Labor, Dept of (DOL)
7 filings
Treasury, Dept of
7 filings
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
7 filings

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 8 filings →

Cosponsors 4