Army Organic Industrial Base Mineral Partnerships Act of 2026

This bill would let Army industrial facilities enter contracts or cooperative arrangements with outside companies to extract and process minerals, including critical minerals like lithium and rare earth elements, from Army land, facilities, waste, or byproducts. The outside company would have to follow environmental laws, take responsibility for cleanup and environmental liability, protect the government from those costs, and provide bonds or insurance. The Army would receive payment in cash, minerals, equipment, or services, and could keep and use cash payments for its industrial facilities without further approval from Congress. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands would not apply to these operations, and the Army would report yearly to Congress on the number of agreements and types of minerals involved.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Ted Cruz Republican sponsor
• 1 cosponsors