PRIA Logo™
119-s-3708119th CongressWALLET

MERICA Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Senator Cotton, Tom [R-AR]

Introduced

Summary

Expands the federal mineral leasing framework on lands acquired by the United States to include hardrock minerals. The bill adds a detailed "hardrock mineral" definition and rewrites several terms in the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to bring that expanded scope into the statute.

Show full summary
  • Mining and exploration companies gain a clear pathway to lease hardrock deposits on acquired lands. The new definition lists inclusions such as base metals, precious metals, industrial metals, and precious and semi‑precious gemstones.
  • Federal land managers and the Secretary of the Interior get updated legal language and a broadened leasing tool to administer hardrock minerals on acquired lands. The bill also inserts a cross‑reference in 30 U.S.C. 352 to add "hardrock minerals" alongside sulfur.
  • Operators of coal, oil, gas, salt and other specifically excluded materials keep their current statutory regimes because the hardrock definition expressly excludes coal, oil, oil shale, gas, sodium, potassium, sulfur, and materials governed by the Materials Act of 1947.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

New rules for hardrock mining leases

If enacted, this bill would add a new legal definition of “hardrock mineral.” It would list what counts (for example, base metals, precious metals, industrial metals, and gemstones) and would expressly exclude coal, oil, oil shale, gas, sodium, potassium, sulfur, and materials covered by the Materials Act of 1947. The bill would also add “hardrock minerals” to the list of minerals that can be leased on federally acquired lands and would update the Act’s cross-references and the definition of “mineral leasing laws.” These changes would take effect upon enactment and mainly affect companies that explore, lease, or mine on acquired federal lands.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Cotton, Tom [R-AR]

AR • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 9/29/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation