A duo of lawmakers is pushing legislation to encourage more domestic mining of critical minerals, adding bipartisanship to the GOP-led fight to break the United States’s dependence on China for the raw materials forming the backbone of the economy.
Texas Reps. Lance Gooden, a Republican, and Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat, unveiled legislation on Tuesday that would create permanent tax incentives for the mining and recycling of critical minerals in the U.S. Those minerals, which include lithium, graphite, and cobalt, are used in everything from military equipment to renewable energy and batteries.
The legislation, shared first with the Washington Examiner, is meant to address growing concerns, especially from Republicans, that the U.S. is reliant upon China and other adversaries for critical materials. Of the 35 minerals the Interior Department listed as critical in 2018, the U.S. is reliant fully on foreign imports for 14, including graphite and rare earth elements.
The bill would also create a grant program at the Interior Department to fund pilot projects to produce critical minerals, offering $50 million each year for three years starting in fiscal year 2022, according to the bill text.
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“Our capacity to manufacture essential technology for our national defense and economic prosperity will remain in danger as long as we remain dependent on China,” Gooden said in a statement.
Gooden and Gonzalez introduced similar legislation last Congress. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, introduced related legislation last Congress as well, though it is not clear if he will reintroduce his bill.
Thus far, much of the legislative push to expand domestic production of critical minerals has been spearheaded by Republican lawmakers, who raise concerns that President Joe Biden’s green energy plans will only increase U.S. reliance on China, given the lack of domestic supply of these materials.
Last week, House Natural Resources Committee Republicans reintroduced legislation that would speed up the permitting process for critical minerals mines. That bill would also bar the interior secretary from blocking critical minerals mining on federal lands and in federal waters without the approval of Congress.
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Republican lawmakers said they hope to see more Democrats support efforts to expand critical minerals mining. Biden signed an executive order in February directing federal agencies to determine vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains, including for critical minerals and for batteries that power electric vehicles.
Biden has also met with bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers on ways to bolster the U.S. supply chain.
