Washington: The US House of Representatives has approved legislation aimed at expanding domestic mining as lawmakers warned that America’s dependence on China for critical minerals poses risks to its economy, military and national security.
The House passed the Protecting Domestic Mining Act by 218 votes to 201 on Wednesday (local time), with Republicans arguing that faster permitting for mining and mineral-processing projects would help reduce US reliance on China.
The measure, H.R. 1501, now goes to the Senate.
“America has the resources. We have the workers. What we don’t need is years of government delay and uncertainty,” Republican Congressman Jefferson Shreve of Indiana, who introduced the bill, said.
“My bill gives qualified mining projects a clear and accountable permitting process. That will strengthen American manufacturing, support American jobs and reduce our dependence on China.”
The legislation would permanently include mining and mineral processing among sectors eligible for the FAST-41 permitting process, designed to provide greater coordination and predictability for major infrastructure projects.
The bill would also prevent implementation of a proposed Biden-era rule that would have narrowed eligibility for mining projects under the programme.
Supporters say the measure would make it easier to develop mineral resources inside the United States without eliminating existing federal environmental review requirements.
Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan of North Carolina said dependence on overseas mineral production left American supply chains vulnerable.
“Everything from our cars and power grid to our factories and weapons systems depends on minerals that have to be mined and processed somewhere,” Harrigan said.
“When we make it nearly impossible to produce those resources here at home, we don’t stop mining; we simply push it overseas and become more dependent on countries like China.”
The House action came on the same day that the Ways and Means Committee held a hearing examining strategic partnerships to secure critical resources and supply chains.
Committee Chairman Jason Smith said China was the leading global producer of 30 of the 60 minerals designated as critical by the United States and controlled around 90 per cent of global rare-earth processing capacity.
“Today this Committee meets to discuss how we confront a problem America has failed to address for far too long: our dangerous dependence on Communist China for the critical minerals our entire society, including our economy and our military, cannot function without,” Smith said.
The Missouri Republican said critical minerals were used across strategically important sectors ranging from shipbuilding and semiconductors to fighter aircraft, precision-guided weapons, medical equipment and nuclear energy.
Lawmakers are also looking beyond domestic mining for alternative sources.
Smith said recent congressional discussions with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia showed opportunities to expand US partnerships with mineral-rich countries in Central Asia.
He also pointed to Africa as another potential source for more diversified critical-mineral supply chains.
The Trump administration has made critical minerals an increasingly important element of its economic and national-security strategy as competition with China expands from trade and technology into control of the raw materials required for advanced industries.
China holds a dominant position in the mining or processing of several minerals and rare-earth elements used in electronics, clean-energy technologies and sophisticated weapons systems.
(IANS)
