MERICA Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 3708 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3708 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 28, 2026 Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Mineral Extraction for Renewable Industry and Critical Applications Act of 2026'' or the ``MERICA Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF MINERAL LEASING ACT FOR ACQUIRED LANDS TO HARDROCK MINERALS. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands is amended-- (1) in section 2 (30 U.S.C. 351)-- (A) in the sixth sentence, by striking ``The term'' and all that follows through ``embrace'' and inserting the following: ``(5) Oil.--The term `oil' means''; (B) in the fifth sentence, by striking ```Lease''' and inserting the following: ``(3) Lease.--The term `lease'''; (C) by striking the fourth sentence and inserting the following: ``(4) Mineral leasing laws.--The term `mineral leasing laws' means-- ``(A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); ``(B) the Act of April 17, 1926 (44 Stat. 301, chapter 158; 30 U.S.C. 271 et seq.); ``(C) the Act of February 7, 1927 (44 Stat. 1057, chapter 66; 30 U.S.C. 281 et seq.); and ``(D) all Acts amendatory or supplementary to any of the Acts described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).''; (D) in the third sentence, by striking ```Secretary''' and inse