On May 28, U.S. Reps. Paul A. Gosar (AZ) and Michael Waltz (FL) introduced the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020. They were joined by House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Rep. Rob Bishop (UT), House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology Ranking Rep. Frank Lucas (OK), and House Rep. Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA). This bill is intended to facilitate the availability, development and environmentally responsible production of domestic resources to meet national material or critical mineral needs.
China continues to dominate the critical minerals market, controlling the vast majority of the global supply. Currently, 14 of the 35 critical minerals identified by the United States Geological Survey are imported to the U.S. at a rate of 100%.
“This dual-committee effort will make significant strides toward securing our nation a domestic supply chain of critical minerals from the United States for the United States,” Rep. Gosar said. “Critical minerals are the building blocks of modern life, necessary for applications in defense systems, renewable technologies, healthcare and more.”
The global pandemic has demonstrated the consequences of allowing America’s overreliance on China to go unchecked, Gosar added, “and this legislation will begin the complex process of unraveling our addiction and addressing this problem.”
The bill will address current impediments to domestic critical mineral development, such as requiring federal agencies to streamline the permitting process. It will also promote technological advancements, such as minerals recycling.
“As coronavirus has unfortunately demonstrated, if China can threaten to cut off our pharmaceutical supply, they can do the same with their supply of rare earth minerals,” Rep. Waltz said. “We need to bring this supply chain back to America — and this bill will be an important step to do that.”
Arizona Mining Association Executive Director Steve Trussell said proper measures must be taken to “protect, responsibly extract and utilize our resources so we are not reliant on foreign sources.”
Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Cruz have also introduced minerals-related legislation in the past year, but it has yet to pass.
