Make all federally acquired lands eligible for hardrock mineral leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands.

Tom Cotton · Arkansas · Republican

policy impact 5.00 specificity 4.00 extraction confidence 99%

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Occurrences

The Mineral Extraction for Renewable Industry and Critical Applications (‘MERICA) Act will reduce bureaucratic red tape that limits mining on federally acquired lands. ... The Mineral Extraction for Renewable Industry and Critical Applications Act would: Make all federally acquired lands eligible for hardrock mineral leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (MLAAL).

Cotton promises to make all federally acquired lands eligible for hardrock mineral leasing, removing current regulatory limits.

Cotton Introduces Bill to Reduce Burdensome Government Regulations on Hardrock Mineral Leasing
primary · press_release · model gpt-4.1

Evidence

Jan 28, 2026 press release: Cotton and Cruz introduced the MERICA Act to make all federally acquired lands eligible for hardrock mineral leasing.

Senator Tom Cotton (with Sen. Ted Cruz) publicly announced on January 28, 2026 that they introduced the 'MERICA' bill which would list hardrock minerals under the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, explicitly making federally acquired lands eligible for hardrock mineral leasing.

unresolved unknown A for effort

Cotton Introduces Bill to Reduce Burdensome Government Regulations on Hardrock Mineral Leasing
primary · model gpt-5-mini · confidence 90%

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Congress.gov entry for S.3708 lists Sen. Tom Cotton as sponsor, introduced 01/28/2026; latest action: read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; status: Introduced.

The formal Senate measure S.3708 (sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton) was introduced January 28, 2026 and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Congress.gov shows the bill's status as 'Introduced' and records no subsequent Senate passage or enactment, indicating the proposal has not been delivered into law as of the present lookback.

unresolved unknown A for effort

S.3708 — A bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals (Congress.gov)
secondary · model gpt-5-mini · confidence 90%

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Assessments

never unknown A for effort

Sen. Cotton sponsored S.3708 (the MERICA Act) on Jan 28, 2026 to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make federally acquired lands eligible for hardrock mineral leasing. The bill was formally introduced and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee but has not been passed or enacted. Because he made a formal legislative attempt (sponsoring the bill) but did not secure enactment, the promise was not delivered; per adjudication rules this is classified as 'never' with effort_badge=true. Future action could change the status, but current evidence shows no delivery.

provider openai · model gpt-5-mini · confidence 90%