# 119-s-3708: MERICA Act of 2026

119-s-3708, MERICA Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3708
- As of: 2026-10-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3708
- Congress: 119
- Title: MERICA Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-28
- Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-03

## 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. - 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.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX), 2026-09-29T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New rules for hardrock mining leases: benefit, low. 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 Materi…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-2342: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-4615: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-s-2010: TERMS Act
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-3708 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3708)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-524)
- [119-s-2342: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2342)
- [119-s-4615: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4615)
- [119-s-2010: TERMS Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2010)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3708 (as of 2026-10-03).