Simpson Cosponsors Critical Minerals Bills

Washington, D.C. – Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson recently cosponsored two bills to encourage domestic mining of critical minerals.

“Current events have shown that the United States is far too reliant on unfriendly foreign nations for important resources.  Whether it be oil and gas or the critical minerals we need to power modern technologies, we can and should be sourcing these domestically,” said Simpson. “Though there was an announcement this week that the U.S. will begin prioritizing battery minerals, these two bills will ensure domestic mining continues on all critical minerals applications and that the Administrations cannot single-handedly halt progress on tapping our vast domestic resources.”

Both bills were introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN). The first, H.R. 488, the Saving America’s Mines Act, would prohibit any Administration from halting the mining of critical mineral on federal lands where mining is currently permitted.  The second, H.R. 2604, the Accessing America’s Critical Minerals Act of 2021 would reform the onerous critical mineral permitting process, and would reduce government waste by removing duplication of federal agencies performing identical reviews of state agencies.

“I have been saying for years that this Administration needs to take real action to prioritize a strong domestic supply chain for essential minerals,” said Simpson.  “The U.S. has some of the most stringent environmental standards in the world.  We also have the ability and the technology to recover those resources in the least environmentally disruptive way; therefore, not doing so at this point is simply irresponsible and reckless.” 

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