▶ 0:09:04Good morning and welcome to today's hearing entitled examining ways to enhance our domestic material supply chains. Today's hearing addresses the crucial challenges that the US is facing. how to decouple and derisk ourselves from China and other foreign adversaries and build critical mineral supply chains within the US. Our country's been blessed with abundant natural resources and the world changing technology needed to harvest harness those resources.
▶ 0:09:30Unfortunately, however, we have become overreiant on other nations to supply and process critical minerals. Today's hearing is an opportunity to examine how to increase capacity and resilience in American critical mineral supply chains. Again, critical minerals are used in items we use every day like smartphones, computer hard drives, televisions, batteries, and bulbs. They are also used in elements of our electrical grid and have defense applications.
▶ 0:09:57The United States used to be the leading producer and refiner of many critical minerals, including rare earth elements. By the late 1990s, however, most of this industry dissolved and moved overseas. According to a review in the United States Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024, the United States was 100% import reliant for 12 of the 50 critical minerals on the 2022 critical minerals list and more than 50% uh import reliant for an additional 29.
▶ 0:10:28This predicament we find ourselves in is not a new problem, but a problem that has been many years in the making. So, how did we get here? It's a combination of things including burdensome permitting and other regulations, uncertainty in commodity pricing, market manipulation, and an increasingly ligious society. This has made our domestic environment unattractive to investors and companies as a result.
▶ 0:10:52For example, getting domestic processing and refining facilities up and running is an extremely long process. It can take 10 to 20 years for a new processing for new processing plants and smelters to become operational. That is in addition to the lengthy mind development process in the US which is the second longest mind development timeline in the world. Because of this burdensome red tape, companies have not incentivized to invest domestically. So instead they invest abroad.
▶ 0:11:22Moreover, even when US companies operate mines in the US, the hesitency to invest in domestic processing and refining facilities has put us in a position where foreign adversaries monopolize other parts of the supply chain. For example, in 2019, one rare earth mine in the US sent 98% of its raw materials to China because the US lacked the capacity to process those minerals domestically. As a result, we must import our own product back from China after it is processed.
▶ 0:11:53But China's recent export bans on several rare earth elements critical to the US make this nearly impossible. I cannot convey the seriousness of this issue enough. This is an economic issue and an issue of national security. We as a nation must ensure that we have access to these materials and the ability to process them without reliance on foreign adversaries, including China.
▶ 0:12:15I want to applaud President Trump for declaring a national energy emergency on day one of his presidency, emphasizing that the US's identification, production, and refining of critical minerals are inadequate to meet domestic needs. Since then, President Trump has signed several executive orders related to critical minerals, including ordering immediate measures to increase American mineral production. We look forward to working with the Trump administration on the mission to increase the capacity and resilience of domestic critical mineral supply chains.
▶ 0:12:45Also want to thank our witnesses for joining us today to share their expertise and guide our discussion about the challenges in building domestic critical mineral supply chains and the opportunities we have to improve our domestic supply chains moving forward. I now recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee, Miss Clark, for her opening statement. I thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:13:04Chairman, and good morning to our Uh this is a very important issue and one that in the past was precisely the kind of hearing that was appropriate for congressional oversight and debate. However, this is not the past. Today is different. Last week, my colleagues across the aisle showed what they care about, and it's not investing in critical mineral supply chains.
▶ 0:13:29They showed how far they're willing to go and the countless communities they're willing to betray just to give their billionaire donors even more money. It is truly upsetting. The American people are calling out to Congress for help and Republicans seem determined to ignore them. As ranking member of this subcommittee, I'm deeply committed to keeping our nation safe, for the ability of families to make ends meet, for the preservation of our environment, and for holding this administration accountable.
▶ 0:13:59I share my colleagues concern about the state of our domestic critical mineral chains. These core elements are necessary to some of the biggest industries in the United States. Our technology, energy, transportation, defense sectors all heavily rely on the materials that for the most part we are forced to import from other countries and this is not sustainable.
▶ 0:14:25The global race for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, rare earth minerals and nickel is intensifying. These valuable resources are the building blocks of modern technology in the clean energy economy. Electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and semiconductors all depend on these minerals. And that dependence is only growing.
▶ 0:14:47Not only is the United States forced to rely on foreign sources for these minerals, often they come from or processed in countries that are our adversaries. This dependence makes our vulnerable and makes us vulnerable and exposes us to risk too big to bear. To remain competitive and secure, we must enhance our own ability to supply critical minerals.
▶ 0:15:10Starting with enhancing our responsibil our responsible mining abilities, scaling up refining and processing and expanding recycling and reuse. Democrats enacted the historic bipartisan infrastructure law and the inflation reduction act. Two historic pieces of legislation that among other things funded domestic mineral processing capacity and supported research and development.
▶ 0:15:38The IRA, which was passed without a single Republican vote, invested over 350 billion in clean energy manufacturing and critical mineral development. It provided tax credits to companies that sourced materials either domestically or from allies and created thousands of goodaying union jobs and reduced emissions.
▶ 0:16:02This progress and these gains are under threat from Republicans who are tr trying to repeal or defund these vital programs. These successful investments are being destroyed by the short-sighted push from Republicans to give giant tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.
▶ 0:16:20Their obsession with rewarding Trump's friends undermines our ability to fund critical programs that support the clean energy transition, infrastructure development, and domestic We know overcoming the climate crisis will demand bold creative solutions to se to the challenges that lie ahead.
▶ 0:16:41As co-chair of the smart cities caucus, I believe technology technology that often relies on critical minerals can make communities more sustainable, resilient, and livable. We must continue investments that incentivize innovation in clean and critical mineral technologies, particularly those that minimize environmental and community impacts. We must also invest in workforce development and support historically underserved communities. So, let me be clear.
▶ 0:17:12Tax cuts for billionaires do not strengthen our supply chains. They do not help build battery factories or lithium processing plants or rare earth recycling facilities. They do not train workers for the green jobs of the future. They do not reduce our dependence on foreign regimes for vital resources. What they do is starve the government of the revenue we need to make smart strategic investments in America's future.
▶ 0:17:40Instead of supporting clean energy innovation and domestic supply chain resilience, Republicans are fighting to extend and expand tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of investments in climate, jobs, and national security. I call on my colleagues across the aisle to abandon this reckless agenda of tax breaks for billionaires and instead support investments in a strong, secure, and just, clean energy future.
▶ 0:18:08The American people deserve leadership that puts the long-term strength of our economy and planet above short-term political gains. We must continue to invest in our domestic mineral supply chain, support innovation and equity, and reject the failed tax policies that undermine our progress. Our national security, our climate, and our prosperity depend upon it. I yield back. Thank you. The chair now recognizes the vice chairman of the committee, Mr.
▶ 0:18:37BS for five minutes for an opening Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and my opening statement is on behalf of Chairman Brett Guthrie. Chairman Palmer, thank you for holding this hearing on critical minerals. This is an important opportunity to discuss a path forward to end our over reliance on foreign adversaries for critical minerals, including ways we can create comprehensive and resilient domestic supply chains for critical minerals.
▶ 0:19:01The US imports at least half of its supply for 41 out of 50 critical minerals on the US Geological Surveys 2022 critical mineral list and nearly a quarter of those 50 minerals are entirely imported. The US reliance on foreign nations for critical minerals, mainly China, is not a new issue and the committee held hearings on critical minerals last Congress.
▶ 0:19:24However, given recent events by the Chinese Communist Party, CCP government, this dire situation continues to escalate. Specifically, in August and October 2023, the People's Republic of China began restricting the export of graphite, gallium, and germanmanium to the US. And in July 2024 announced a state-run database to ensure that extraction, export, and use of all rare earth resources are strictly controlled by China.
▶ 0:19:53Most recently in December 2024, the PRC banned exports of three rare elements, anamony, gallium, and geranium to the US. Then, as recently as February of this year, the CCP restricted the export of five additional critical minerals, including tuxen, which is used in artillery shells and armor plating plating and indium, which is used in phones, televisions, and semiconductors.
▶ 0:20:19Just last month, the PRC put seven more rare earth elements that are virtual to the American economy and national security on the export export, excuse me, export control list, including Samarine Samarium, which plays an essential role in nuclear reactors. These export controls and bands are significant especially given that China has monopoly on critical mineral processing and refining particular for rare earth minerals.
▶ 0:20:46Specifically, China refineses up to 90% of the world's supply of rare earth elements and other critical minerals, including graphite, lithium, cobalt, and copper. Additionally, the heavy rare earth elements on the PRC's export control list are only refined in China. China's monopolization of critical mineral supply chains combined with the increasing number of restrictions they have placed on critical min exports will have a significant effect on our national economic and energy security.
▶ 0:21:13If we want to assure our national security, energy dominance and the US as a leader in technology innovation such as AI, we must prioritize our critical mineral supply chains. Because of these developments is essential that we decouple from China and create resilient and robust critical mineral supply chains that are separate from foreign adversaries. One pathway towards this is to develop domestic capabilities across all elements of our supply chain.
▶ 0:21:39The volatile nature of geopolitics makes our over over resilience on other countries even friendlier ones an unsustainable strategy. This is why we need to shift our focus on domestic mining and mid-stream process. While the while the US used to have rob more robust critical mineral supply chain over time the American critical minerals industry has become unappealing to many investors due to burdensome regulations as well as financial and political uncertainty.
▶ 0:22:07It's time to address these issues and break free from China China's stronghold. President Trump has already signed executive orders to boost American critical mineral supply chains to remove bottlenecks and relieve un unnecessary red tape to operationalize critical mineral companies. Now it's Congress's turn to step in and help identify remaining challenges and opportunities to strengthen America's critical mineral supply chains. I want to thank the witnesses for being here today and I look forward to your testimony.
▶ 0:22:37I also want to thank the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Palmer, for his interest and leadership on this important issue. I yield back. Thank you. The chair now recognizes the gentle lady from Colorado, Miss Dette, for five minutes for an opening statement. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I'm here sort of the ut Democrats utility player this morning filling in for Mr. Palone.
▶ 0:23:01All of us agree that securing our energy future and reducing reliance on China's critical mineral supply chain are urgent. However, my Republican colleagues legislative priorities lead me to wonder whether they seriously care about this issue or are just using it as yet another talking point. Actions speak louder than words.
▶ 0:23:22And un unlike our Republican counterparts, Democrats have actually passed legislation to make the investments necessary to build a strong supply chain for critical mineral extraction and processing. The bipartisan infrastructure law and inflation reduction act passed in the last Congress invested hundreds of billions of dollars to reshore American manufacturing jobs and build momentum towards durable domestic supply chains.
▶ 0:23:50These investments are critical to ensure we are competitive players in booming clean energy industries so we can once and for all end our reliance on China for critical minerals. These investments also supported downstream manufacturers so that the critical minerals extracted and processed in the United States are used to fuel domestic manufacturing and create jobs for American workers.
▶ 0:24:16These laws provided the Department of Energy with resources for programs that invest along the entire supply chain while expanding existing programs with a proven track record. DOE's loan programs office is a great example of how Democratic investments are a win-win for Americans. The Loan Programs Office was set up to invest federal tax dollars in cutting edge projects that reduce our reliance on imports and create jobs for American workers.
▶ 0:24:45while generating billions of dollars of net profit for taxpayers. And yet, not one Republican on this committee supported either of those laws, despite the laws making investments predominantly in Republican districts. And with the bill that passed this committee last week, the GOP tax scam, Republicans are giving up on investing in domestic energy supply chains, manufacturing, and clean energy.
▶ 0:25:15All so they could give giant tax breaks to billionaires who don't need them. That bill will kill jobs, hurt domestic businesses and manufacturers, and drive up en Americans energy bills. And now that bill could be on the floor as early as today. Friends, we were starting to see Democratic investments pay off.
▶ 0:25:37The bipartisan infrastructure law, the inflation reduction act, and the chips and science act were creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country in both Democratic and Republican districts. DOE programs created and expanded by these laws were financing first of their kind mineral processing and advanced manufacturing projects across the country.
▶ 0:26:00Meanwhile, other programs such as DOE's Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains were investing in projects to reshore manufacturing jobs and provide skills training so American workers would be ready to take the jobs that the Democratic investments were creating in their communities. But now all of that's being undone by a reckless and rudderless administration and a compliant Republican Congress.
▶ 0:26:28Clearly, my friends across the aisle are not serious about solving problems with supply chains, and I look forward to talking to this entire panel today about these challenges and issues. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Thank the gentle lady. That concludes member opening statements. The chair would like to remind members that pursuant to the committee rules, all members written opening statements will be made part of the record.
▶ 0:26:56Uh we want to thank our witnesses for for being here today and taking time to testify before the subcommittee. Uh you will have the opportunity to give an opening statement followed by a round of questions from members. Our witnesses today are Miss Abigail Hunter, executive director at SAFE Center for Critical Mineral Strategy. Miss Katie Sweeney, executive vice president, chief operating officer at the National Mining Association. Mr. Alexander Hurgot, president of permitting of the permitting institute. Mr.
▶ 0:27:25Casey Hammond, principal at Capital Pillar LLC. And finally, Mr. David Howell, director of strategy at the Battery Advocacy for Technology Transformation Coalition, otherwise known as the BAT Coalition. We appreciate you being here today and I look forward to hearing from you. You are aware that the committee is holding an oversight hearing and when doing so has the practice of taking testimony under oath. Do any of you have an objection to testifying under oath? Seeing no objection, we'll proceed.
▶ 0:27:55The chair advises you that you're entitled to be advised by councel pursuant to house rules. Do you desire to be advised by council during your testimony today? Seeing none, please rise and raise your right hand. Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God.
▶ 0:28:21Seeing the witnesses answered in the affirmative, you are now sworn in and under oath subject to the penalty set forth in title 18 section 101 of the United States code. With that, we will now recognize Miss Hunter for five minutes to give an opening statement. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman Palmer, uh, Ranking Member Clark, um, government, uh, Congresswoman Deette Herstead, and members of the subcommittee.
▶ 0:28:50My name is Abigail Hunter, and I serve as executive director for SAFE Center for Critical Mineral Strategy. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. SAFE is a nonpartisan nonprofit. We work with retired military leaders, Fortune 500 executives, and technical experts to offer actionable recommendations on energy security and economic resilience. Let me start first with why this matters. What enables an AI data center to compute at massive scale? Gallium based semiconductors and rare earth magnets. What enables trucks to haul more freight with less fuel?
▶ 0:29:19Advanced aluminum components and nickelbased super alloys for lightweing. What keeps a military drone operational in a contested aerospace? A lithium-ion battery. Minerals are not just inputs. They are strategic assets. And getting these minerals is just step one. Whether the United States get minerals from our own subs soil, partner countries, the seabed, recycled sources, all of them must be transformed before they can be used in advanced manufacturing.
▶ 0:29:47But China realized this early through subsidies, cheap capital, predatory pricing, and overseas investments. It built a dominant position in the midstream. Today, China possesses 65% of global lithium refining, over 70% of battery grade nickel and cobalt, and more than 90% of graphite and rare earth processing. Their grip extends through global facilities run by stateowned entities and proxies, forcing American firms not to compete with the market, but with a foreign government. And Beijing has shown consistently its willingness to use that dominance coercively.
▶ 0:30:17In just the past two years, it's imposed export controls on gallium, germanmanium, graphite, rare earth, and more. specifically targeting the US defense and technology sectors. This is not market competition. It is strategic leverage. Beijing understands that controlling processing means controlling the pace, price, and availability of next generation manufacturing. Now, when we talk about processing, it's not just one step. It's dozens.
▶ 0:30:43Different feed stocks must be crushed, mil, separated, refined, and in many cases, chemically converted to achieve the purity, specification, and form required for manufacturing. That's why policy cannot stop at extraction. It veils the technical aspects of processing as well as the opportunities that alternatives and recycling present. Second, the economics matter. Some minerals like zinc and prime are primary products, but others like Germanmanium and antimony are byproducts only recovered when we refine larger metals.
▶ 0:31:12Byproduct economics rarely justify investments alone. So if we don't have mid-stream capacity for zinc, we lose a source of access to germanmanium and antimony. Third, market maturity varies. When while metals like aluminum trade on open exchanges, emerging and obscure minerals don't. They often lack transparent price discovery and are far more susceptible to manipulation. The effectiveness of tariffs, price supports, and stockpiling strategies will vary depending on the market maturity and opacity.
▶ 0:31:40One sizefits-all work. While processing varies by minerals, some barriers are shared. First, no processing project survives without buyers. If there is no US demand, producers are either forced to sell to China or compete with Chinese suppliers abroad, often at a disadvantage. Second, costs are a major barrier.
▶ 0:31:59US projects face higher capital costs from equipment and construction and frequent cost overruns, especially for first-of-akind projects, as well as regulatory compliance and expensive inputs like energy driving up operating costs. We can't compete with China's sub China China subsidized model without de-risking the investment. Finally, policy must match market reality. If restrictions like tariffs or sourcing rules outpace available supply, we risk undercutting US manufacturing rather than strengthening it.
▶ 0:32:28The US cannot secure its mineral supply chains without fixing the processing bottleneck. This is where strategic risk, economic barriers, and national security converge. But it's also where smart well sequenced policy can have the greatest impact. To meet this moment, we must anchor minerals policy in midstream chokeoint realities. Without processing, domestic upstream extraction and downstream manufacturing will still rely on an adversary.
▶ 0:32:53Tailor strategic um strategies by materials, accounting for key differences in processing technologies, market structures, qualification requirements, as well as opportunities in alternatives and recycling. Align trade, sourcing, and incentive policies with infrastructure and commercial readiness so as not to outpace market viability. Make US processors and recyclers competitive with financial tools that lower the cost of capital, attract investment, and m mitigate regulatory and impulse costs disadvantages compared to China.
▶ 0:33:22And collaborate with allies to source interim feed stocks, expand non-Chinese capacity, and create resilient rules-based trade networks capable of resisting coercive market manipulation. say thanks to subcommittee's leadership in highlighting these issues and stands ready to support in your efforts to strengthen American mineral security. Thank you. Chair now recognizes Miss Sweeney for five minutes for her testimony. Good morning, Chair Palmer, Ranking Member Clark, members of the subcommittee.
▶ 0:33:50Thank you for the opportunity to discuss one of the most pressing issues we face as a nation, how we secure our domestic mineral supply chains. The complexity of the issue is extraordinary, but the urgency to act is unprecedented. It is not an overstatement that secure mineral supply chains will help determine world order in the future.
▶ 0:34:12Our economic and national security and the ability to innovate are absolutely reliant on access to minerals, both the ability to get them out of the ground and to process them into final products. Given the committee's jurisdiction, my testimony primarily focuses on our lack of processing capabilities. And for simplic simplification, I use the word processing as shorthand for any of the steps that come after getting the ore out of the ground, such as smelting and refining.
▶ 0:34:43Importantly, extraction and processing must scale together to create a secure mineral supply chain. simply producing more ore that must be exported to China or other countries for processing or building more processing capacity without the domestic or to feed it solve little. Fortunately, the right policies can address both of these potential points of failure.
▶ 0:35:08The world faces unprecedented mineral demand growth and China's long-term global mineral strategy includes billions of investment in projects across the globe that have enabled the country to exert its mineral dominance. China controls roughly 85% of the mine-to- metal processing capacity.
▶ 0:35:29Over 73% of the world's cobalt, 59% of lithium, 68% of nickel, 85% of rare earth, 90% of graphite, and nearly all of the germananium, gallium, and tungsten. Copper is following the same trend. In 2024, China processed approximately 44% of the world's total copper compared to the US's 3%. And China's not the only foreign adversary exerting such control.
▶ 0:35:58Russia and allied countries dominate the uranium supply chain. How did we go from one of the world's leading producers in the postw World War II era to the over reliance on foreign sources? A major major reason, complacency. We've woken up periodically and rattled our sabers when China has flexed its muscle over rare earths or other m minerals, but then accepted short-term solutions or called for further studies.
▶ 0:36:26Now that there is widespread and bipartisan acknowledgment of the undeniable scope of the problem, we can act decisively to institute solutions. We can successfully derisk and decouple our mineral supply chain from foreign adversaries. We have significant advantages in the United States.
▶ 0:36:45A vast mineral endowment, skilled workforce, worldleading safety, labor and environmental standards, existing energy and transportation infrastructure, and renewed administration and congressional focus.
▶ 0:37:00Solutions should include fal federal investments and incentives to accelerate US efforts to break free of China's hold on the mineral supply chain such as acceleration of private and public capital investment in domestic mineral production projects tax credits additional use of defense production act funds leveraging of export import bank programs preferred loans incentives for domestic sales and price support for domestic
▶ 0:37:30producers. Other needed solutions, permitting reform to reduce bureaucratic and judicial delays, research and development investments to improve recovery rates for mining, mineral processing, recycling, and from unconventional sources such as tailings or coal waste. Friendsh shoring while the US rebuilds capacity and when necessary to supplement US capacity.
▶ 0:37:57facilitation of workforce development through educational grant programs to support mining and trade schools and training. Our nation's future as a global leader depends on secure mineral supply chains. The need for these minerals, processed materials and the enduse products is not going away. It is clearly not a question of if, but where and the where matters.
▶ 0:38:23Producing minerals here at home is opposed to countries such as China ensure that these activities will be conducted in accordance with worldleading environmental, labor, and safety regulations while simultaneously creating vast economic benefits. Through misguided land management, regulatory and tax policy, we incentivize the offshoring of these critical supply chains.
▶ 0:38:48And recognizing the grave vulnerability we created, we have moved with alarming complacency to confront it. We now have a you unique and urgent opportunity to turn the tide. The National Mining Association appreciates the committee's prioritization of these issues and is eager to help craft solutions. Thank Chair now recognizes Mr. Hargot for five minutes for his opening statement. Chairman Palmer, Ranking Member Clerk, thank you for the opportunity to testify.
▶ 0:39:18Uh, as president of the Permit Institute, it should be no surprise that I'll be talking about permitting today. A nonpartisan prodevelopment trade association founded in 2021. Our mission is urgent and unapologetically practical. Every month, a permitting delay increases project costs, erodess investor confidence, and strengthens foreign control over sectors vital to American industrial leadership. Sectors dependent on secure integrated mining processing and refining supply chains have been failed by Congress for more than 20 years.
▶ 0:39:46Even under ambitious World War II style industrial realignment, I need to be clear, we have already lost. Building a domestic supply chain will take at least 20 years. It is not realistic for us to do that. The uncomfortable truth, our chance to compete with China on critical mineral processing closed in the 1990s. Our viable goal now is simply to remain economically relevant in the in a race that we are far behind in.
▶ 0:40:09TPI was founded not merely to critique broken systems, but to actively collaborate with developers, federal and state agencies, Congress, and communities to deliver real permitting reform. Our members represent billions in investment across energy, pipelines, transmission, mining, transportation, include practitioners who authored the largest, most impactful permitting laws we have in this country, executed them, and navigated them through the White House.
▶ 0:40:32After 15 years in the US Senate as associate director of White House Council on Environmental Quality and the first executive director of the federal permanent council, which pushed through the largest wind and solar facilities and mining facilities in the country, I founded TPI to prove a core principle. We can deliver legally sound project approvals or denials within a year without compromising environmental, cultural, or historic uh protections. The idea that faster means weaker environmental reviews is absolutely false.
▶ 0:41:00Our cornerstone environmental laws on average of the 63 that govern infrastructure were written 40 years before the creation of the internet. The Green New Deal, Waxman Marky, McCain Lieberman, the clean power plan, even going back to the inconvenient truth. All of those climate plans were modeled after Denmark, Norway, and Germany.
▶ 0:41:22Those countries simultaneously to changing their clean energy ambitions also have permitting regimes that permit dirty mines, oil and gas facilities, and drilling within 6 months. In 10,000 pages of the Clean Power Plan, the Green New Deal, IRA, all of those climate bills, not one mention of permitting or critical minerals in any of those bills.
▶ 0:41:45It is frustrating to listen to discussions about IRA and 45Z and money and commitment and the reality is is that moving to an entirely different sector without having the industrial the industrial supply to allow for that to be built is nonsense. We have put ourselves in an untenable position where we put ourselves entirely dependent on China. In 2001, China produced less than 30% of the refined rare earth elements.
▶ 0:42:13It only took them 10 years to command more than 80% of the rare earth processing, taking over aspects of Indonesia and Africa that we will never get back. This dominance is deliberate. While we were fighting over coal versus natural gas versus wind versus solar and during the fracking revolution, China made uh their dominance a deliberate uh geopolitical exercise. They made mineral processing a choke point for American economic and security ambitions.
▶ 0:42:43And for someone that has been to China and a hard rock mine multiple occasions, which much of many many of Congress actually haven't, our permitting gridlock is now a national vulnerability that China exploits as they laugh at us. Why we debate about uh a debate about whether or not uh funding an IRA or whether or not uh actions in various bills to speed up permitting actually uh made a difference. The biggest misconception in critical minerals discussions is that mining is the hardest part. It's not. The choke point is processing and refining.
▶ 0:43:13Consider graphite one in Alaska capable of supplying the entire US graphite demand while China floods global markets with synthetic graphite. We move too slowly. Unforced air of immense proportions. Similarly, South 32 Hermosa could be America's sole significant source of battery grain manganesees, vital for technology and defense, yet has been dragged along and could be sped up uh and permitted and inoperation later this year, yet faces unnecessary hurdles with agencies that are not coordinated.
▶ 0:43:40These are these are things that are easily fixable, but we can't get out of our own way. And then I take us to new range. The nickel copper project in Minnesota representing one of the largest copper nickel deposits in the United States has faced years of delay after EPA abruptly reversed its progress allowing China additional time to secure resources in places like Mosmbique and South Sulia, Indonesia. Um each project has immense potential but remains hampered by litigation and bureaucratic efficiency. symptoms of a permitting system needing modernization.
▶ 0:44:09But facing the entrenched political uh the political ideologies that somehow opening up bedrock environmental statutes means that we are going to deliberately in uh deliberately impact communities um whether it be an environmental justice community or whether it be uh my friends in in uh in uh the tribal communities in Arizona and the West. The reality is is that we're going to need to build this stuff.
▶ 0:44:34There is always a balance between human activity and the natural environment and we either stop using iPhones. We stop using elements that we absolutely need or we uh or or or we fix the problem. And one last thing is the gentleman's time has expired. Can cover that in in the Q&A. Chair now recognizes Mr. Hammond for five minutes for his opening Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Casey Hammond.
▶ 0:45:01a former staffer from the Committee on Natural Resources and during President Trump's first term, I worked at the Department of the Interior. In that role, I oversaw the Bureau of Land Management, which is responsible for our public lands, including mining and mineral development. Since leaving the administration, I'm helping others navigate the federal permitting process. When he was my boss, former Secretary, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinci developed a graphic to demonstrate a few reasons why fixing our mineral dependence must be a priority.
▶ 0:45:29The attachment to my testimony demonstrates the different pieces of equipment carried by a Navy Seal, the different minerals needed for the equipment, and more importantly, how dependent we are on foreign sources, notably China, for those minerals. The graphic highlights that we are 50% or more dependent on foreign sources for at least 23 minerals carried by a Navy Seal. Now, imagine how this graphic might look for jets, missiles, satellites, and even simple rounds of ammunition.
▶ 0:45:55As a House staffer, I'd hoped that the federal permitting process was administered by impartial civil servants diligently and fairly applying the rules, immune to the political pressure from Washington. However, I learned that significant decisions rarely occur without the direct involvement of political appointees. I recall being very frustrated early in my time early in my time at Interior to find out after the fact that a project had frantic proponents waiting for our review.
▶ 0:46:22But those who knew of the project and its urgency withheld such information from those of us who might act. Fortunately, I worked for secretaries who installed strict time limits that they personally tracked and such hide the ball uh game pl game playing was virtually eliminated. Fortunately, unfortunately, this is not always the case. About a year ago, I became aware of a critical mineral project that had been waiting three years for an environmental assessment to conduct exploration.
▶ 0:46:51For context, when I was at Interior, our inter our internal rule mandated that we must complete an EA in 90 days. Exploration is simply an early investigation with minimal intrusion on the to the environment. How do you convince a company to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a mine when it takes three years for permission to drill small holes from the back of a pickup truck? To address our critical mineral supply challenges, we must instill confidence in the mining community.
▶ 0:47:19Project proponents should be assured that if they follow the law, they will be fairly considered and will receive an unbiased and timely decision. The EPA with his the EPA with its expertise in water and air analysis is a cooperating agency when it comes to permitting mines. However, a solitary EPA analyst decides to interject themselves into a project after the NEPA comment period that can pollute the administrative record and deter project proponents from moving forward.
▶ 0:47:49This could apply to the Fish and Wildlife Service, actions taken by historic preservation officers and others, putting projects at risk by unilateral actions of those without accountability. Congress must direct that all requisite agency reviews are done in parallel. Addressing mineral dependence also involves a judiciary. A new mine could be fully operational, employing hundreds of people, but then a district court judge rules that the decision to approve the mine was arbitrary and capriccious, shutting down the mine for months or years.
▶ 0:48:19The appropriate role and scope of the of judicial review must be addressed. We must also address domestic minerals processing. Consider copper. Currently, there are only three primary smelters in the US, but they aren't always operating. That means incredibly if you opened a copper mine tomorrow, it is likely that you would plan to send your product to China for processing because they have capacity and is less expensive than doing it here.
▶ 0:48:46In that case, it doesn't matter how quickly you permit a mine, you're still sending the mineral to a potential adversary. I'm encouraged by the swift action taken by the president thus far. Secretary of the Interior Bergam responded to the president's directives, blazing a new path to decrease review times for environmental assessments from an average of over a year down to just 28 days. I also spoke with career officials uh within the agency that are now welcoming mining projects in their jurisdictions.
▶ 0:49:14They want this work and that attitude matters. It makes a distinct impression on potential developers. I want to offer a few suggestions to this Congress. First, narrow the scope of near of NEPA reviews. Lay out clear certain requirements for project applicants. Encourage investment through a motivated, responsive, and efficient loan program office at DOE. Create mo create a mobile and responsive agency workforce and create an environment of accountability.
▶ 0:49:44We have an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we engage with the mining industry and generate domestic prosperity. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm happy to take any questions committee may have. Thank you. The chair recognized Mr.
▶ 0:49:57How for five minutes for his opening Chairman Palmer, ranking member Clark, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to provide an update on the back coalition's efforts to establish and secure the domestic upstream manufacturing supply chain for lithium-based battery materials. I'm Dave Howell. I'm the strategy director. Mr. How, would you pull your microphone closer, please? Yes. Yes, sir. Thank you. I'm Dave Howell. I'm the strategy director for the BAT coalition.
▶ 0:50:27Our 15 members provide a collective voice of the battery upstream supply chain in extraction, synthesis, and processing to produce battery grade and critical materials. The BAT coalition supports implementation of a comprehensive legislative and federal agency policy strategy that will maximize the market incentives and trade protections necessary to grow this critical industry in the US and promote resiliency. The domestic highcapacity battery supply chain is at a tipping point.
▶ 0:50:58Battery demand in the US is expected to grow in the coming years. High-capacity batteries like lithium-based batteries are critical for defense systems like drones, portable power, personal wearable batteries, and almost every major weapon system. And commercial applications like electric vehicles, grid storage, and consumer electronics.
▶ 0:51:18These markets all util utilize many of the same material supply chains and typically only differ in cell design and format, which is why these markets are inherently interconnected. This is a critical area for US energy dominance and innovation as well as presents an urgent national security imperative to establish a strong supply chain free of Chinese influence.
▶ 0:51:42The main supply chain concerns exist in the upstream materials market where China maintains an over 70% global market share of almost all battery materials from refined precursors to finished products and in certain cases China controls well above 90% of the global market for some critical lithium battery materials. Chinese statebacked firms continue to build infrastructure for current and future battery materials demand.
▶ 0:52:07It is important to point out that battery materials and processing can represent over 70% of the value of lithium battery manufacturing, making the upstream portion of the supply chain critical to our domestic economy and supporting manufacturing jobs. Policy actions are vital to building and protecting the domestic upstream battery material supply chain.
▶ 0:52:29BAT members encourage Congress to pursue policy reme remedies such as the recently introduced bipartisan critical minerals and manufacturing security act CMMSA by Dr. Ro Ruiz from California and Congressman Gabe Evans from Colorado. It represents an important first step in establishing favorable tax policies to this critical domestic industry.
▶ 0:52:53Specifically, CMMSA increases IRA 45X advanced manufacturing protect uh production tax credit for battery electrode materials production to 25% of production cost. And it also includes the cost of the raw materials. It includes foreign entity of concern restrictions to prohibit FEOC's from accessing US government tax credits.
▶ 0:53:17It adds North American Free Trade Agreement material sourcing requirements to the eligibility rules and expands electrode active material definition to include precursor materials, binders, and solid state electrolytes. that BAT also strongly encourages action in additional and in additional measures that Congress continue to support full funding and timely execution of the Department of Energy's battery materials and processing manufacturing program funded through
▶ 0:53:47section 40207 of the infrastructure investment and jobs act to support competitive cost shared grants to establish domestic manufacturing of batteries and the refining and processing of battery that Congress continues to support funding and timely execution of the Department of Energy's loan program and that the DOE loan program prioritize applications that support critical materials production and that Congress supports federal agency funding to advance innovative solutions
▶ 0:54:18to support the upstream material supply chain. In closing, we appreciate your leadership and consideration of these vital federal initiatives. The coalition stands to be a resource on these critical material matters. On behalf of the BAT coalition, I appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony before you today. Thank you and I look forward to your questions. I thank all of the witnesses for their testimony. We will now move to questioning. The chair recognizes gentleman from Ohio, Mr.
▶ 0:54:47Balderson, the vice chairman of the subcommittee for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh thank you all again for being here. Um, my first two questions are my first question is directed for Mr. Hott and and Miss Sweeney. Uh, the US has the second longest timeline for a mine to be approved and we've heard antidotes of projects waiting decades for approval to break ground or begin operations.
▶ 0:55:15Why is it that approvals of projects in the US, whether it be a mine or a processing, refining or recycling facility for critical minerals, take so long in the US? Mr. Herod, I'll let Miss Sweeney go first, please. Ladies first. Thank you so much. Um, one of the main reasons is lack of coordination amongst the various agencies that are involved in the permitting process.
▶ 0:55:44Most mining projects will require a variety of permits. Um we've had member companies that have had mines that require over 90 permits. So there's a lot of coordination. Um I think another problem is uh we have the statute of limitations for NEPA is six years. It's way too long. Um the litigation component of adds decades or can add decades to the permitting process. Thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:56:17uh too many decision makers spread across too many uh too many parts of the country uh that that are not equipped to deal with the modern techn technological advances and projects that we're dealing with today. The bottom line um is that uh projects must uh many many of the laws that govern these projects are are are uh create create obstacles um that then create litigation footholds for anyone that opposes the project uh to use rhetorical legal process uh to dispute the inherency of whether
▶ 0:56:47they like the project or not. should not be able to use uh the law to stop a project that that you otherwise disagree with on the merits. On balance, um 80% of the projects that are sued in this country end up winning in court, but they're abandoned because they're in sanguinated from capital. Anyone that's throwing capital in to build a pipeline, a mine, or any type of energy generation has got to be crazy at this point in the country. Um we we do not reward that.
▶ 0:57:13Meanwhile, the rest of the world is building things uh 10 times faster than us while we allow for projects to languish in in in in in a in a debate. The other reality is if when I walked into the Department of Interior under the last administration and talked to my good friend Tracy Stone Manning and Secretary Halen and I asked how many environmental impact statements do you have moving through Department of Interior, whether it be at BLM or BOE? Um it took four weeks for them to come back with an answer and even that was inaccurate. We have no transparency in this black box of a system.
▶ 0:57:42We're using legacy paperbased system to deal with some of the most most uh most complicated projects the world has ever seen. If Keystone pipeline was 2.7 billion, the average project size now is about 67 billion. And we're still using a calculator to deal with things that we should be using AI and technology for. I could go on and on, but I don't want to waste any more of your time. Well, and and and thank you. You answered part of my follow-up question, and Miss Sweeney, I'll let you also answer my followup. Excuse me.
▶ 0:58:09How does this compare to other developed nations with similar labor and environmental standards? Um, it is not a good look for the United States when it comes to comparing to other major mining countries with similar standards. Um, Australia and Canada, for example, um, do the permitting in at least half the time that the US does. Okay. Thank you. U, Mr.
▶ 0:58:36Herot does the current complicated and burdensome permitting process and wide scope of judicial review for critical minerals production processing or refining make it difficult for smaller companies to also thrive in the US? Absolutely. Absolutely. In fact, the abandonment rate for a small midcap company to invest and explore on on a mining facility, you've already spent close to $200 million before you even submit an application to the federal government just on technological feasibility.
▶ 0:59:05The only people that are going to be able to fund that are sovereign wealth funds are people that like to lose money. I mean, at this point, there has been so much cast aside on the regulatory uncertainty on on uh on on building anything in this country, let alone the fact that most of what we fight about is how we move and generate electrons when it comes to critical minerals. When I talk about how we've lost the war with China, it is it is because we have we have failed to realize and connect the dots that 90% of the materials in this room are from China. Are from China.
▶ 0:59:34We have not and and I I had this debate with Mr. Ghalva, the late Mr. Ghalva about the fact that he would malign and demagogue uh the the minds that were being built in the United States, but at the same time uh failed to appreciate that that if China yanked the cord, Congress would cease to operate. All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. And your mentioning of the late Mr. Rahava, I should have done this at the very beginning. Um, just learned this morning that my friend Jerry Connelly passed last night.
▶ 1:00:05And I want to extend condolences to Mr. Conny's family and to my Democratic colleagues and to many of my Republican colleagues. Jerry was a genuinely a friend. He was one of my favorite people to work with. We rarely agreed on anything. Uh, and he would absolutely destroy your arguments, but he didn't destroy the people. And um, we're going to miss him. Chair now recognizes the ranking member of the subcommittee uh the general lady from New York, Miss Clark, for five minutes for her questions.
▶ 1:00:37Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And uh likewise, Jerry indeed was a very special colleague with um an ability to debate um and to get his points across without um being mean-spirited. So, we we uh will dearly miss him. Um we hold his family in our prayers. Um, critical minerals are essential to every Oh, sorry.
▶ 1:01:05Would the um would you start the clock back at five minutes? I don't want to count her comments on Mr. Connelly as part of our gentle ladies recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Critical minerals are essential to everything from cell phones and solar panels to the weapons and kit our military uses to protect our national security. That is why our reliance on imported critical minerals is so concerning.
▶ 1:01:34China dominates the global supply chain for critical minerals, critical mineral processing. Relying on China for critical minerals undermines our national security and puts us at a competitive disadvantage. This is one reason why Democrats made comprehensive investments to bolster the domestic supply chain for critical minerals through the bipartisan infrastructure law and infl excuse me inflation reduction act. Mr.
▶ 1:02:01Howell, in your testimony, you say that there cannot be an industrial base for defense critical systems without a robust industrial base for commercial battery materials. How are the defense and commercial supply chains for critical minerals interconnected as you've stated? Thank you, Congresswoman. Um, yes, the Department of Defense and DO DOE commercial batteries are essentially the same.
▶ 1:02:28Um, particularly for uh critical materials and components of those batteries uh and lithium lithium based batteries particularly. So, the cathode is typically the same. It's either a combination of a nickel, cobalt, aluminum type cathode or or manganese or on the on the anode side, it's graphite.
▶ 1:02:49Um so both the commercial applications, EVs, stationary storage, consumer electronics and defense application needs these highcapacity batteries. So they're definitely interconnected. Very well. Thank you. And it is clear that these challenges aren't going to solve themselves. When Democrats held the majority, we acted to reshore manufacturing and invest in domestic supply chains for critical minerals.
▶ 1:03:16Now that Republicans are in charge, it seems like they're more interested in cancelling critical mineral investments to pay for billionaire tax cuts than building on the investments in the Americans uh in America that Democrats made over the last four years.
▶ 1:03:31Miss Sweeney, a federal invest are federal investments in critical mineral processors and other manufacturing that is downstream from critical mineral mining projects a necessary part of building a robust and sustainable critical mineral supply chain. Um I one of the recommendations that we have is to look at a variety of federal investments to help support um our getting away from China as our main source of critical minerals.
▶ 1:04:01Very well. We can serve as a catalyst for sure. Miss Hunter, what would happen to critical mineral projects that are just getting started if the federal government abruptly pulled back from BIL and IRA investments in domestic critical mineral extraction and processing? Thank you for the question. In my written testimony, I talk about the importance of leveraging demand drivers so that we can source alternative sources of supply, encourage alternative sources of supply to come online.
▶ 1:04:32Unfortunately today the the market in most cases is at equilibrium for many of these minerals. Um but in some cases it's actually at over capacity. So we do have to center ourselves around new demand from robotics AI um from clean energy technologies to encourage manufacturers to reorient these supply chains. I'm hopeful with the executive branch with President Trump's leadership on these issues, the prioritization that we'll see this come together.
▶ 1:04:58Um, critical minerals policy demands certainty and and given it's a bipartisan issue, I'm optimistic that we'll get there. Absolutely. Hope springs eternal. We cannot address our dependence on China for critical minerals and national security area without building a robust supply chain supporting our commercial needs. That means maintaining critical investment in clean energy, vehicles, chips, and then many other products made with critical minerals that Americans use every day.
▶ 1:05:26Republicans say that they want to end our reliance on China for critical minerals and support American workers, but they have rejected and attacked every single policy aimed at accomplishing that goal. Democrats fought to end the dependence on China for critical minerals and support American workers when we control the Congress. We will keep fighting to protect investments in American workers, domestic manufacturing, and clean energy. With that, Mr.
▶ 1:05:52Chairman, I yield Chair recognizes gentleman from Florida, Mr. Dr. Dunn for his uh questions for five minutes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. You know, to ensure the US has a robust supply of critical minerals, uh private entities and the government have to navigate many market complexities and that includes you know the upstream extraction, mid-stream processing and downstream manufacturing.
▶ 1:06:18uh if we can't compete with China on this and they're doing all these price setting export controls and whatnot, the US is simply not going to have the industry or the economy needed to produce these critical minerals. So we have to create an immediate need for every level of that supply chain. For example, in order to have reliable minerals, we need to have qualifications and purity standards which we don't seem to have uh a set uh set of right now.
▶ 1:06:47Uh Florida State University is in my district. It's home to the National Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and most powerful magnet lab in the world. I'm proud of that. The lab creates about $700 million a year in US economic output. And these high magnetic fields are leading to discoveries in complex materials. And the researchers are working to develop US-based rare earth supplies in Florida.
▶ 1:07:14FSU industry partners are currently working on new ways to remove we think over $30 billion dollars worth of rare earth um minerals that are in Florida's phospho gypsum stacks what they call the gip stacks these are the old phosphate mines uh this would create a US supply of critical minerals needed to unleash American technology uh energy needs and reduce our dependence on China.
▶ 1:07:41What we discovered in Florida is that these gip stacks have enormous uh reserves of rare earths uh in them. And if we can separate them, we think we have decades and decades of supply. It's alarming that the United States must rely on China to acquire the 50 most important minerals uh rare earth minerals that uh we uh we work with.
▶ 1:08:05Something that hasn't yet been mentioned is that 27 of those 50 critical minerals can be found in the state of Florida. The only two that are currently being mined are zirconium and titanium. Uh Mr. Chair, I would like to submit for the record a report from the FSU National Mag Lab. It's entitled Florida's potential as a production center for rare earth critical minerals and industrial Without objection, so ordered.
▶ 1:08:34Thank you so much, Miss Hunter. Uh, you very clearly laid out America's market risks and the need for secure qualified end products. You noted that to justify execution, high-risisk firms typically will require market pricing, strong demand signals over time. Given these factors, how would you suggest the US government expand its commercial base for these critical materials and execute a deterrence strategy against China?
▶ 1:09:03First, I want to recognize that different types of American ingenuity coming out of the national labs, universities to find alternative pathways, substitutes, um different processes even from biology is is very critical for us to explore as we decrease dependence on adversaries for these sources in terms of how the US can help both uh creating more alternative sources of supply at home, but then contending with these market manipulations that that you laid out, Dr. Dunn.
▶ 1:09:31Um, Congressman, I think we have to take kind of a two-pronged approach. First, dealing with the competitive disadvantages US processors face, uh, the many different costs um, in capex and opex that are higher in the United States compared to different parts of the world that I outlined in my my written testimony.
▶ 1:09:50Additionally, um looking at uh partnership with allies so that we can make sure there's no circumvention of US unilateral policies like tariff sourcing provisions through third party markets so that our producers can compete on a level playing field. These will be uh critical to be ensuring American competitiveness. Thank you for that, Miss Hammond. China uses predatory tactics to block the US ability to develop commercial and globally competitive domestic mining and production.
▶ 1:10:16We're suffering the consequences of decades of that and underinvestment frankly on our own part. Does China's mineral dumping intentionally harm the development of US industries? And if so, what action should we be taking? Is this a straightforward counterveiling duties and anti-dumping case? M I'm sorry, Mr. H. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Well, that's one of the many challenges we face, right? How are we going to how are we going to compete with China?
▶ 1:10:45and and and in my view the the strongest case we have is making it more attractive to to develop here. We have to create an environment where where mining companies feel that this is the best place for the investment. Uh Alex said earlier use the word crazy. You'd have to be crazy to to develop here. And I've actually had a a a mine owner tell me that exactly when I asked him. I was like you got to be crazy to be doing this here. And he said well in some other places it's worse and the minerals here. So we're going to we're going to try here.
▶ 1:11:14This is after he'd been locked up in court for a while. But but in my view, yeah, that's that's our number one has to be a number one priority is making this an attractive place to invest. Thank you very much. My time is elapsed. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And yield back. Thanks, gentlemen. The chair now recognizes gentle lady from Colorado, Miss Dette, for five minutes for her questions. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:11:35Recently uh we had a hearing in the energy subcommittee on the grid and all of the witnesses at that hearing agreed that the energy sector is increasingly moving towards renewable energy and so I'd like to ask all of you as we move towards renewable technologies like wind, solar and battery storage um that's going to require materials like cobalt, copper, graphite and other rare earth minerals.
▶ 1:12:05Correct, Miss Miss Hunter. Yes. Renewable energy sources typically depend on a multitude and variety of critical mineral resources. And and um so in your Miss Hunter, in in your testimony, you noted that the advanced manufacturing production credit made possible by the IRA would help to offset domestic critical mineral mining costs. Is that right?
▶ 1:12:33within the the 45x production tax credit, there is a 10% for um critical minerals production, including critical mineral inputs um and indirect inputs that can help with the distorted playing field that American processors currently compete on, insulating them also from the price manipulations that we've seen um that have been used nefariously with certain minerals by the PRC. Thank you.
▶ 1:12:55I'm sorry to say that my Republican colleagues are trying to cut that funding along with $500 billion in clean energy incentives that would support American business. Um so Mr. How I want to ask you um in your testimony you pointed that IA6 billion investment in battery manufacturing is necessary to compete with global competitors like China. Is that correct? That is correct.
▶ 1:13:23And um so the president pre previously froze this IGA funding stream and proposes to cut 15 billion dollars in IIGA funds. So that's not going to help to be help us become independent with these productions is it? It will not. And do recognize that that many of those programs are actually firstofind production facilities in the United States.
▶ 1:13:52So the federal government helping to buy down that risk is very important for private sector investment. And building out a successful critical mineral supply chain domestically is also going to require upholding the highest mine safety standards. Is that Yes, ma'am. And why would that be? The highest mind safety Yeah. Why would you if you're going to build out the network?
▶ 1:14:16Um, some of your your fellow witnesses here have suggested that we we just and none of us ag none of us think we should have unreasonable delays in permitting or anything like that. But at the same time, as you're going to develop more domestic production, you still have to keep high standards. Is that right? That is correct. And we have examples around the world. Australia is a great example of having very high um environmental standards for mining and accelerated permitting.
▶ 1:14:46So we it can be done. You don't have to sacrifice standards for for speed. That's correct. Okay. Now, um, unfortunately, President Trump and and, um, Elon Musk's Doge proposed eliminating more than 30 mine safety and health administration offices where mine safety experts inspected over 17,000 sites last year. I'm I'm wondering if Mr.
▶ 1:15:10Hal, if you could tell me whether closing mind safety offices would mean there would be less oversight over mine safety practices. I I think that there could be less oversight. I do think there's lots of room for improvement in mind safety inspection.
▶ 1:15:28Um, a AI was mentioned before, but bringing together federal agencies like the Department of Interior, Department of U, Defense, Department of Energy, and using the expertise that we have that's already located in those uh agencies uh could accelerate mine permitting and and increase safety. I think that would be a splendid uh suggestion.
▶ 1:15:53And if you have any further thoughts on that, if you could uh supplement your testimony, that'd be really helpful to this committee as we try to develop bipartisan legislation. I yield back. Gentle lady yields. The chair now recognizes the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Guthrie, for five minutes for his question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for having this. Sorry, I've been in the rules committee over in the capital building in most of the night. So, uh, so I missed your testimony, so I apologize.
▶ 1:16:19And first I want to just bring up I know I think everybody probably heard that our dear colleague Jerry Connelly passed away and I mentioned to him in our full committee. He was one of my my dear friends here. He and his wife Smitty and he always I told a story about where he brought her the wrong Valentine gift last time. This one he uh he he was studying to be a priest. He was in the seminary was right before vows and she had been a nun his wife and uh they met at a nonprofit thing later.
▶ 1:16:45They both she had left the Anyway, I was telling a we were on a NATO committee telling a friend of ours on Europe. I said, "Well, well, Jerry was about to be a priest and he married a nun and he came to me. He goes, "You make it sound like I was trolling the convent. You better tell it. You better tell that like it really is." I didn't think about that, the story of it. But anyway, so gosh, what what a man. What a wonderful person. So, I'm sorry we're going to all lose we've lost him. Um, getting back to and thank Mr.
▶ 1:17:11terms for doing this critical minerals as we know we saw during the tariff issues when China was going to start restricting that and the leverage they had and so Miss Hunter how critical are how how are critical minerals in particular rare earth elements for the reliability for energy and also to being competitive with China for AI which is part energy as well you want to talk about that thank you for the the question chairman um rarest are a really good example here of the importance across
▶ 1:17:42energy infrastructure, ensuring American energy dominance and then also supporting new growing technologies like the AI revolution. Um they get a lot of attention rare earth elements for their application in permanent magnets specifically used to propel wind turbines also to use in electric motors for EVs but their utilization across society is really outsized. Um when we're putting in place these new AI data centers they have to remain cool.
▶ 1:18:08it is the rare earth magnets that actually keep the fans going in these um data centers. So critically important there as well. Another good example besides rare earths is copper and aluminum for their conductivity. They're used not only in transmission infrastructure but also in these data centers um to make sure they can have that high level of of computation. Okay. Thanks. And so so Miss Sweeney and Miss Hunter and also Miss Sweeney um the issue right now is China. Well, we need them anyway, but the issue right now is China.
▶ 1:18:37And so uh could you talk about I'm sorry Miss Sweeney and Miss Hunter could talk about it too. I think my question for you the implica imp what are the economic implications of not having our own supply hunter and then Miss Sweeney if you'll talk first is uh and and talk both of it is my understanding is that China has tried to kind of drum up opposition in the United States of us to develop our own critical minerals and and and uh rare earth elements process not only mining but processing as well.
▶ 1:19:05I mean, how does China try to use market manipulation, any any type of thing to to prevent us or discourage us from developing this industry, which makes us more dependent on them? Can you give us some examples of that? Yes. Um, a great example, I think, is the Gervois um cobalt mine in Idaho. Um, they were just about to open.
▶ 1:19:28Um they were fully permitted and uh China dropped the price of cobalt, manipulated the market, um dumped uh excess cobalt onto the market and Sherwis had to choose between operating a loss or closing and they closed that facility. But that's a a prime target for trade action as it should be.
▶ 1:19:58Um so Miss Hunter um if so what is the na what are the national security implications if China keeps doing this and we don't have our own supply? There are very clear national and economic security implications if we don't find alternative supplies to China. Again rare earth is a a great example um with the most recent export controls that we've seen uh that have been somewhat deescalated.
▶ 1:20:22Um, we heard, you know, it's it covered all over the news about how manufacturers who keep, you know, around 45 to 60 days of inventories are are lacking alternative sources of supply, particularly for heavy rare earths that we have to get processing online for. Last year, the USGS documented a lot. I'm just about out of time, but we have the we have the biggest proponent of rare earth minerals chairing this committee right now, critical minerals, Mr. Palmer, and we're going to all turn him loose and ourselves loose.
▶ 1:20:49what turning oursel loose and having a game plan two different things I know he has a game plan I'm trying to learn from him so what do you anybody I do start with you guys suggest what does congress need to be doing what's the biggest impediment that congress can help you solve to get rare earth and critical minimum processing in our nation state side miss hunter yeah and go down uh permitting reform and helping with the costed disadvantages for us processors miss hunter missy I'm sorry ditto Mr. Her you want to capital being put at risk.
▶ 1:21:19There's a 30% premium in the United States uh spent on unnecessary permitting costs. Um the IRA, all it did was offset half of that. So uh if we sped up mining projects, we would see uh close to a trillion dollars of foreign direct investment pour into the United States and you wouldn't need Keynesian style federal money. Now I'm not going to tell my members uh that are going to slap me that they don't like the free money, but at the end of the day um we need to change the way we think about it. That's what Mr. Palmer says and mid trillion dollars. Although so you're saying he's right.
▶ 1:21:49We uh we have a we have a we have a narrow window where China is at the end of its useful life on what it built 20 years ago. It can no longer meet the purity standards that are required for AI semiconductors cathodes and the rest. So we have about a two threeear window where we need to get out of our own way and we might be able to catch up a little bit to change. Thanks. I'm not going to get to other two of you but uh but I will say that the time to act is now and so it's time for us to we're going to put some action into this. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thanks, gentlemen. The chair now recognizes a gentleman from New York, Mr. Tonko, for five minutes for his questions.
▶ 1:22:20Thank you, Mr. Chair and ranking member. Uh, today's hearing feels profoundly out of touch given the ongoing effort by my Republican colleagues to defund programs that invest in our ability to catch up and develop much needed domestic critical mineral supply chains. Critical minerals are key to US national security and economic prosperity are required for technologies like cell phones and optics, aircraft and EV batteries and their use is only growing.
▶ 1:22:46The market for critical minerals with some $320 billion in 2022, which is double the size it was only 5 years earlier. While we cannot lose sight of the challenges in developing critical mineral supply chains, it is just as essential that the minerals we rely upon are sourced in a transparent and ethical manner. Last year, I sponsored the critical material trace act, which would bring much neededed transparency and accountability to critical mineral supply chains.
▶ 1:23:16This bill would establish a DOE program that supports the development and adoption of digital identification systems for imported technologies, including EV batteries. Better monitoring and reporting would allow us to develop critical mineral supply chains with partners that prevent human rights violations and environmental harms. So, Mr. How what are the biggest gaps in current data and reporting systems for tracking the origin, processing and trade of critical minerals?
▶ 1:23:46The biggest d gaps of data uh congressman for tra tracing in gaps in current data and reporting systems for track for tracking the origin processing and trade of critical minerals. Sure.
▶ 1:23:59So um at this point there's really no consistency in the type of data that's gathered and so bringing consistency to the the importance the important data characteristics of uh sources and refined products and tracking those materials not only through extraction but refining and end uses. And then also you you could also add in recycled materials as well.
▶ 1:24:25And so you could develop a circular uh economy with with many of these materials. So then Mr. How would legislation like the trace act that I identified help address these gaps in data and reporting systems? Well, it would provide a structure for the department for agencies like the Department of Energy or the Department of Defense to actually start building out that database and and informing and uh industry in in the requirements for for the trace traceability of materials.
▶ 1:24:55Thank you. I appreciate that. And Miss Hunter, do you agree that the Trace Act would help increase transparency in global critical mineral supply chains? Congressman, thank you for the question and your leadership on this issue. Uh transparency and standards have to go hand inand on this. Um transparency without standards lacks legitimacy. Standards without um transparency lacks consequence. If those are the goals we're searching for, then traceability is the mechanism. Um we need to be able to strengthen existing policies like the weaker forced labor prevention act.
▶ 1:25:25Um, we support obviously the trade acts endeavors here and we also, especially with all of the 232 investigations and critical minerals need to make sure that our harmonized tariff schedules um actually reflect the different um types of minerals along these complicated processing lines that I've talked about in my testimony so we can be more concerted in making sure that we're encouraging manufacturers to um you know buy domestic, buy allied, buy higher standard sources of supply and play on a level playing field for these minerals. Thank you.
▶ 1:25:53And the trace act would create a digital identifier or battery passport that acts as a digital label for batteries allowing end users to trace the origin of battery man materials and components. These identifiers could help facilitate the transfer of information amongst stakeholders including mining companies, original equipment manufacturers, recyclers, consumers, and regulators. So Mr. Mr. Howell, do you agree that a traceability system could strengthen the US national security and create economic resilience?
▶ 1:26:23I do. And Miss Hunter, same question. Will a traceability and accountability system help strengthen our national security and improve the economic resilience of our critical mineral supply chains? We need to shine a flashlight on these opaque supply chains. So, anything we can do on traceability that can help us um show that we're where we're getting materials now and then move away from adversaries is is a very helpful step forward. Thank you.
▶ 1:26:45While digital battery identifiers are an emerging technology and concept, there are several private and public companies and consorcia pursuing this important work and I hope to see it continue. So, I thank um all of our panelists for their attention to these important matters and uh we have to do more to bridge the gap and ensure our nation's economic resilience and security is there for the future. So, with that, Mr. Chair, I yield back. Thanks. The gentleman for his questions. Chair now recognizes gentleman from Texas, Mr.
▶ 1:27:14Weber for five minutes for his questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Miss Hunter, I'm going to come to you first. And Miss Wendy, you're not off the hook yet either, so I'll get to you second. Of the 50 critical minerals identified in 2022, 49 are essential to the energy sector. May or may not know about my district, 14 has seven ports, more than member Congress, lots of energy, three LG plants. I could go on on. 49 of those essential energy sector.
▶ 1:27:41And we rely on China for 26 of them. Do that math. The US once led the world in producing and refining rare earth elements, but seated that position to China in the 1980s. Today, China controls roughly n I'm telling Noah about the flood here. Today, China controls roughly 90% of global rare earth processing and has already demonstrated a willingness to restrict exports and thus as one of y'all mentioned affect the market. This leaves the US dangerously exposed.
▶ 1:28:12If China were to halt exports entirely, think of that scenario. Where would we turn to secure the materials vital to our infra energy infrastructure and national security? I'll go with you first, Mr. Hunter. So, a total export ban would be devastating to the US economy.
▶ 1:28:29We would need to rely on domestic sources if we can get them online and then have them be processed into the you know final products that are need to be qualified by manufacturers to turn to allies as much as possible um countries with which we share national security priorities. We have free trade agreements with um and also working with producing countries uh at scale. Um you know it doesn't it takes a lot of time everyone on this panel has noted to to build a mine set up a processing facility and connect it to downstream buyers.
▶ 1:28:56So you need to look to existing producers at scale as well as allied countries with expertise in this sector to be able to um fill the gap. Would it be a good policy? The thought just occurs to me to actually have a buildup of those minerals excess even even especially when you're talking about national security, our great, you know, fighting men and women. Is there a policy that we can build up excess materials that we get from China or do we just buy them as we need? Do you know? We do have a national defense stockpile that sources these materials for defense purposes.
▶ 1:29:26Um, and it has obviously a national security mandate, not an economic mandate for the energy minerals you've talked about. Um, it's important to take into consideration things like shelf life, qualification, um, you know, the ability to distort the market by oversupplying it. Um, when you're considering this, so I'm sure others have thoughts on this, but it it it's something that exists that we could certainly strengthen and consider, but it's not the end- all beall. But shelf life could be dealt with if you rotated your products through. Agreed.
▶ 1:29:53As long as you're working with processors and downstream buyers of the material so that we're making it in the in the manner and fashion that they needed to. But you need that mid-stream and downstream demand to be able to justify many of these um economics. You agree with that, Miss Wayne? I do.
▶ 1:30:09I um but going back to the beginning of your question, I think that some of the other sources of minerals, if if China completely cut us off, you know, we could look to uh Japan and Korea for some of the rare earth minerals, as long as they also weren't cut off from China, which China has threatened Japan um numerous times in the past and actually did implement a um export ban on rare
▶ 1:30:39earth to Japan. Um so we'd have to be looking at who else uh China is cutting off. Well uh although he didn't take the the oath and didn't agree to testify. I'm going to go back to our great chairman because I think I hear the ch have heard the chairman say that there's nine rare mines in China has eight of them. Is that right? There's not a single major refinery for rare earth elements in the western hemisphere. There's only nine in the world. Eight are in China.
▶ 1:31:08Uh the other one's in Malaysia owned by Lionus I believe is the name of the Australian company. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now, do I get extra time? Um this this leaves the US dangerously exposed what we're talking about. And you I think we all agree on that. Um so understanding there's a more thorough I understand that there's a more thorough mapping of the US is ongoing.
▶ 1:31:35Does the are we in the United States going to have the natural resources to be able to produce those critical minerals if we could get the permitting quick? If we had to go to this quick, is that a feasible scenario? I'm not talking about having stuff stored on the shelf. Yes, ma'am. Miss Sweeney, I see you chomping at the bit. I am chomping at the bit. We have vast mineral resources here. A lot of people do not understand how much we actually have. About 6.2 two trillion that are known.
▶ 1:32:05Um the US Geological Survey says that more is going to be found than we've already discovered to date and they have identified 800 sites for potential critical mineral resources in the US. Thank you for that, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. I might have been a little lax there if if you'd kept going, but I think gentlemen All right, then I'm going to come to you, Mr. Hawk. No. Uh, the chair now recognizes the gentle lady from Texas, Miss Fletcher, for five minutes for her questions.
▶ 1:32:36Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay. Uh, I got it out of order. My bad. The chair now recognized gentle lady from New York, Miss Aassio Cortez. No worries for her questions. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you as well for the generous and and kind words you had to share about um, Chairman Connelly and Ranking Member Connelly. and um he'll be very missed and we will all miss his his demeanor and his humor as well.
▶ 1:33:06So, thank you. Um I'm glad that we are here talking about our domestic critical mineral supply chain today because it is an area that I do believe um could be ripe for bipartisan collaboration. The truth is whether it's for our vehicles, our smartphones, or our national security, our economy does rely on having access to these minerals.
▶ 1:33:29And because the cars and smartphones of tomorrow may rely on different mineral compositions than they do today, it is important that we in Congress continue to plan for resilient and reliable supply chains. As the former ranking member on the natural on the House Natural Resources, Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, um I can say that the urgency behind these issues is something I've been grappling with up close for years now.
▶ 1:33:54We've heard a lot about how crucial tax credits and lowcost lending are uh to our domestic critical minerals supply chain. All while Republicans today are slashing those very same programs in their reconciliation bill. from the rules committee uh not too far away from here.
▶ 1:34:12We are marking up legislation that actually draws down a lot of the financial uh tools that both allow demand to be at the level necessary um in these markets and also the lending that's required uh to allow these supply chains to to flourish. But hearing the debate today, I would also like to focus on the solutions that I believe my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree on, namely grid storage and battery recycling.
▶ 1:34:43very often we have this conversation about how we can increase production and how production can be um aided but we also don't we also very often don't look at the other end of this equation which is that once batteries are in the United States once they have been produced once uh these minerals have been deployed when they reach the end of their life they don't have to go to a landfill we can retain crucial elements of batteries and keep them in and make them part of
▶ 1:35:13our supply chain through robust recycling. Mr. Howell, in your testimony, you touched briefly on the notion of grid storage. Can you explain to people what grid storage is? So, grid storage is basically dispatching um um energy storage uh in timeliness in in in the time that you need it.
▶ 1:35:32So whether it's renewable energies, whether it's uh conventional energies, uh storing that energy in some type of system and it can be a battery, but there's other types of grid storage as well, and then dispatching that when you need it. And how would investing in grid storage help us to support more reliable and affordable electricity? So the grid pretty much is built for peak demand each day.
▶ 1:35:59And so there there's a there's a great deal of power capability overnight. And so by storing that energy overnight, you can actually reduce the the number of power distribution that you need. Yes. I think a lot of times folks don't understandably don't quite understand how our grid works. And uh I think a lot of people will be surprised to learn that once you generate the electricity necessary, it goes essentially right right to its end.
▶ 1:36:29use and once that electricity is generated it needs to be used pretty quickly but storing it uh allows us to deploy it at times produce it and then deploy it um and one area when it comes to minerals there's often uh talk about competition with China and one area that China has solidified is the area of battery recycling in fact by the end of 2025 China is forecast to account for 78 8 to
▶ 1:36:5989% of global battery recycling capacity. Mr. Howell, why is developing domestic battery recycling important for our economic security as well as domestic supply chains? It reduces our need for every critical material in the battery that we're talking about today.
▶ 1:37:16So our calculations when I was with the Department of Energy showed that by by the early 30s um mid mid mid 2030s that we could be actually um recovering enough battery materials from recycled batteries to provide 30 to 40% of just about each of those critical minerals that we 30 to 40% and 30 30 to 40% and then decades later maybe 90 to 95%.
▶ 1:37:44I think it's I mean this is something that I don't believe is being paid nearly enough attention to where yes procurement of critical minerals is an important part of this process but we will be endlessly dependent on that and we will endlessly be scrambling on on this if we don't also make investments in recycling. Um going back to the topic of grid storage, how would investing in grid storage incentivize the development of domestic battery recycling plants?
▶ 1:38:13It just it basically provides that um enduse market for battery for for investment and production capability of battery systems and thank you very much lady's time has expired. I I do appreciate the dialogue on recycling batteries. Our we're getting a substantial amount if not most of our antimony from recycled batteries. Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Fulture for five minutes for his questions.
▶ 1:38:44Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I'm gonna I'll give uh Miss Sweeney a heads up that I'm going to be asking her for a lessons learned uh question here. But before I do, I just want to set up the reason I'm asking that question as a bit of history. So, in Idaho, the Stidnite Mining District became active during World War I, 1914 to 1918, for extracting antimony and tungsten. These minerals were critical for munitions and weapons manufacturing.
▶ 1:39:14During World War II, stmite became the largest domestic supplier of antimony and provided 90% of domestic antimony used in the US war effort. Following the war, demand for these minerals declined sharply. And today, in 2025, if you can believe it, the United States has no domestic antimony mine. So Stidnote go stidnite gold project located in Idaho aims to reestablish domestic antimony production.
▶ 1:39:42Once operational, it's projected to supply up to 35% of the antimony demand in the first six years, strengthening national security and reducing dependence on foreign sources. Until recently, China accounted for over 50 to 60% of global antimony production and the Chinese government banned exports of antimony, gallium, and germanmanium to the US.
▶ 1:40:02This intensified the urgency to restore domestic supply and antimony triculfide from stimnite remains the only known domestic source capable of meeting the US department of defense needs for small arms munitions and missiles.
▶ 1:40:15So fast forward to now in April of 25, just a month ago, Sten Knight Gold project operated by Perpetua was designated as a priority project by the Trump administration in response to the worsening critical min mineral crisis after entering the formal federal permitting process in 2016.
▶ 1:40:35The project achieved a major milestone two days ago just here uh May 19 in federal permitting when it received its final federal authorization section 404 clean water act permit from the US core of engineers. Now with all that history I just want to ask you Miss Sweeney from your vantage point what are the lessons learned from this project? I know this is not the only one uh that has uh has gone through similar types of of processes.
▶ 1:41:05Just like to get your vantage point. What's the lesson learned we can use from this? So I think there are several lessons to be learned here and thank you for the question. Um I think the first one is really highlighting the importance of byproduct material. So antimony is going to be a byproduct of the gold production. So if the gold production were not economic, that antimony would not be um mined at all.
▶ 1:41:34Um secondly, the permitting process clearly took a very long time for Perpetua um when they really were actively going out there and cleaning up um nearby um old mine sailings and mine sites while they were trying to move forward. They were trying to do everything in the right way.
▶ 1:41:55Um the third is the need for litigation reform because this project is being litigated and uh one of the issues that is being raised is one that could be addressed by Congress through the mining regulatory clarity act which I know has received some bipartisan support right here in the house. Thank you for that.
▶ 1:42:17I think if I understand it correctly, although the the permit was initiated in 2016, it's been about an 18-year process, something that Absolutely. It's it's really um and they've spent, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars just to get to the point of um putting in their uh um permit for approval. Yeah, Mr. Hergo, did I pronounce that correctly?
▶ 1:42:46in my LA last year in the Trump administration as his permitting lead. I flew out there um toward the site with Governor Little. It's important to keep in mind that the lost uh revenue, the cost is is going to prevent the tax revenue that will be generated from that project in the outy years because of how much money it's losing on the front end. But it's important to point out that that mining is is entirely supported by private capital unlike the rest of the world.
▶ 1:43:11had uh had had Perpetua then Midas not put the money at risk on a legacy site that it is going to give us better environmental outcomes than if they had done nothing um is it's important to keep in mind that that that that project much like many of the other brownfield projects in the country are going back to legacy mines from World War II fixing them restoring hydraological resources and leaving it better than when they got there uh and Perpetuate doesn't get enough credit for that. Thank you that Mr. Chairman, I'm out of time.
▶ 1:43:41However, I'm going to send Mr. Hergo a follow-up question having to do with the role of land management agencies, and I'd like to get your input on that um as well. Mr. Chairman, I'm going to yield back. Thanks, gentlemen. The chair now recognizes the gentle lady from Texas, Miss Fletcher, for five minutes for her questions. Well, thank you so much, Chairman Palmer, and thanks to you and ranking member Clark for holding this hearing.
▶ 1:44:02Um, I really am glad to work with both of you on the important issues that come before this subcommittee and I agree with my colleague that um, this is an area with real potential for us to work together and find bipartisan agreement. So, I also want to thank all of our witnesses who are here today sharing your insights um, and helping us find where we can find that agreement and understand the landscape where we're having this conversation.
▶ 1:44:26And it does seem to me uh in in the greater context of what's happening in on the Hill this week and and what we're doing that we seem to be talking past each other about a lot of these issues. Um, we've already heard a little bit about it this morning, but I really think it bears repeating that the inflation reduction act and the bipartisan infrastructure law that Congress passed was designed to make important investments to expand the domestic energy industry and to reduce our reliance
▶ 1:44:57on China and other foreign countries and to make sure that we were manufacturing at home, that we could be energy independent, that we could expand and grow and we could be supplying the rest of the world um with clean energy technologies as well as continuing um our work in traditional uh energy sectors. I uh represent the people of Houston, Texas.
▶ 1:45:18It's the energy capital of the world and we certainly um have been exporting our expertise and knowledge um in all areas of energy and see a a future where um that is something we can and should continue to do.
▶ 1:45:32Um but you know as we all know it's just hugely important that we invest in um developing full domestic supply chains for critical minerals and that that's so um important as the demand for these minerals is only going to continue to grow and that it's important for our national security. So you know we need to be onshoring this process in a resilient and smart way and we need to be talking to each other about how we do that. I I think this hearing is is helpful to that.
▶ 1:46:01But I do have to note that, you know, just last week, uh, every Republican on this committee voted to weaken our supply chain for critical minerals, uh, when we voted on this budget bill that's making its way, um, through the House right now and that is currently being debated and considered in the rules committee.
▶ 1:46:20Um, you know, this budget bill rolls back hugely important investments that we made in the inflation reduction act and in the bipartisan infrastructure law to de to expand the domestic energy industry and to reduce our reliance on on China and other foreign countries. So, we seem to be talking past each other when we really should be thinking about all of these things holistically. And I I do want to note u Mr. Mr.
▶ 1:46:46Hergo, I appreciated your testimony and observations on the importance of permitting reform. Um, that is something that I support that I have been working on on this committee. Um, and I agree that Congress should be able to get it done. We should be able to get it done on this committee. Um, and I hope that this committee will really be able to advance that effort in this Congress.
▶ 1:47:05With that said, and with the time we have left, I do think it's important to to understand better how some of the um efforts that we're seeing in the in the um and some of the efforts to repeal these um important investments as well as this overall kind of atmosphere of uncertainty that I'm certainly hearing about from my constituents um is affecting the energy and the the critical minerals industry. And so um with that, I do want to turn to you, Mr.
▶ 1:47:34Powell, because of your background both in the government and in the private sector, I think you've got a great perspective here to just share with us your thoughts on how you expect that companies in the United States that are part of the critical mineral supply chain um are might react in response to repealing these IRA investments and tax credits and also how that might affect innovation and investment in more US manufacturing. Uh thank you for that question.
▶ 1:48:00Um, Madame Congresswoman, um, consistency and predictability are so important to the private sector. And, you know, there's lots of tools that the federal government can employ to to um, support critical minerals and processing in the United States. We talk a lot about tariffs, but production tax credits are so important.
▶ 1:48:20investment tax credits, grant programs that support the buy down of risk to the private sector are important like the IIGJ4207 program that I mentioned. Um third, you know, when I was with the Department of Energy, for every dollar spent, $2 of private sector investment was spent on those programs. And of course, the loan program office, all of these um you know, it's not one sizefits-all for for our industry colleagues in our back coalition.
▶ 1:48:49They look for all of these levers, but specifically they do want some consistency, transparency. They do want predictability, and their shareholders, their financial backers want the same. Well, thank you so much. I'm out of time, but I do have a couple more questions for you, so I will submit them for the record, and I will yield back. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, the chair now recognizes gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Rudley, for five minutes for his questions. Thank you, chairman. The question would be for Miss Sweeney and Mr. Hammond.
▶ 1:49:17What factors are what factors does a company consider when they're thinking about what location in the United States of America that a processing or a refinery facility would be in? So what states specifically? Well, what so what would be the parameters or the factors when you're looking at different locations? I mean the continental United States is so vast in areas and every resources and highways and stuff.
▶ 1:49:43What factors would play into that So certainly or grade would be a big factor. Um but we certainly there are companies um that try to avoid federal lands at all costs because the permitting process for federal lands takes so much longer because there's more uh agencies involved and it almost always triggers NEPA.
▶ 1:50:10Whereas if you're on state or private lands, you can move your um project forward that much more Mr. Hammond, do you have a comment? Sure. So, echoing what Katie said, with mining, you have to go where the minerals are, right? It sounds like common sense, but it's just the way it is. They're not coming to you, you have to go to them. But, um, but in particular, where you choose is also going to be a matter of of where the most favorable reg where's the most favorable regulatory environment.
▶ 1:50:39And I agree with Katie as well. For many people, doing that on federal land is going to be more a problem than it's worth. So, you're going to look for state or private. Uh Mr. Hammond, in your written statement, you said that you decided that the company decided to skip out on development opportunities on federal land when the development was right next to an existing project on state or private land. I know in the state of Ohio, a company from West Virginia, Infiniti, was granted the right to drill on uh state lands.
▶ 1:51:07Uh, and there was a very compassionate, very conscious, uh, acknowledgment of the preservation of the environmental impact. Um, I think anyone that's involved with minerals, we understand that the mother earth needs to be protected at all cost. In this case in particular, uh, I think they decided that there was already a private piece of property that was right next to it that was already doing drilling. So they decided to use that property to pay for an additional contract with people that they didn't have to because they already had the state contract.
▶ 1:51:38So in all due respect to the uh preservation of an environment, they chose to go on the private land and do horizontal drilling into the state land. So there would be no surface impact on the state property. I thought this was a logical approach to the pathway forward for the development of minerals in America. Uh but we see that there's a big difference when you look at private land, state land, and federal land.
▶ 1:52:00So I think you already started the parameters of how it looks like when you're playing around with the federal land with the hiccups and the road bumps that we have in place for that. Do you see a pathway forward, either one of you, on how we get past these roadblocks? More efficient permitting for federal lands, I think, is the the direction we need to go. Um that means more efficient NEPA reviews, environmental assessments, environmental impact statements.
▶ 1:52:30Um you know the um Congress has already told the agencies how long it should take and I think that there have been some um some projects where those uh deadlines have been ignored um or the companies have been told that they need to request an extension rather than um trying to push those timelines.
▶ 1:53:00Excellent. Mr. We need Yeah, we need people to implement what Congress told them to do. Sure. I I think Katie's right. It comes down to permitting reform, but one thing in particular that that I was focusing on in my testimony is concurrent review or or consecutive reviews as opposed to parallel or concurrent. And that's the example I was talking about with respect to uranium where um a project proponent was going through the process but then kept having new requirements dumped on them and extending out the time of the review.
▶ 1:53:30So I mean what I think would be most effective is if you tell a project proponent on day zero what exactly you're going to need to get through all the way through a permitting process. That's the fair way to do it and that's the efficient way to do it. Thank you so much chairman. and I yield my time. I thank the gentleman. The chair now recognizes gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Allen, for five minutes for his questions. Thank you, Mr.
▶ 1:53:57Chairman, uh for holding this important hearing. Uh I want to thank the witnesses for uh testifying today. U obviously, we highlighted the importance of critical minerals in our everyday life. uh and why we should not be relying on China for those critical uh materials and it's a matter of national and economic security that the US be a leader in this critical mineral economy.
▶ 1:54:26Uh, Miss Sweeney, what is the status of critical minerals mining in the US and how has the US capacity changed u over time uh particularly uh in the last administration? So in 2022 we became our most important ever. Um so the trend lines have not been great.
▶ 1:54:57We used to be a leader of many of these supply chains particularly directly after World War II and and into the cold war. Um but we have seated that territory mo mainly to China and with that we seed all the economic value that goes with the processing of those Um, critical minerals production, processing, and refining are processes.
▶ 1:55:26We're to build up domestic energy to help supply critical materials. Are there any energy infrastructure components that we need to consider? I think you you keyed on a very important issue. Um, in order to uh scale up on on processing, you got to power up. and the mining companies will pay for it um if you give them the certainty to the on a a reasonable pathway forward. You're absolutely correct and it's not just on on the energy, it's also on the the uh rail and other infrastructure as well. Right.
▶ 1:55:57Any anybody else like to comment on that? Yeah, I think we need to make sure that we're considering reliable, affordable base load power. Right. Exactly. Uh m uh Miss Hunter uh when China began investing in critical mineral supply chain in the 80s and 90s uh they went from a small share of the market and now they dominate uh the market. In 2023, the US produced less than 20% of China's output.
▶ 1:56:27How did China end up monopolizing the market like this? This is a very concerted long-term strategy that the CCP has been laying out and uh implementing for decades. Uh the made in China 2025 plan really delineates clearly what they're trying to do with um increasing imports of feed stock materials, leveraging recycled inputs and then dominating in the processing midstream so that they can lead on advanced technologies that rely on these technically converted materials.
▶ 1:56:57They use uh illegal subsidies direct and indirect. They use uh 57 billion in lending to foreign nations between 2020 2021 to access minerals abroad. Um and they use market manipulation tools that have been talked about already, but um dictating prices and influencing them in their favor, consolidating their market control. Well, we've watched this for some time and um I don't know, you know, why the alarm bells have not gone off before now.
▶ 1:57:26Uh and uh and of course we're dealing with uh uh again Congress is saying we got to get this done and then the agencies are like well you know we have to delay it further. I mean it's it it it it's critical u I mean what lessons can we learn from this uh uh from their monopolization of this uh going forward and how do we get off the dime here?
▶ 1:57:54I'm always reluctant to say we should take a page from the CCP's book, but their consistency and um on policy and then also monitoring the market dynamics and competitors to adjust as needed has been very successful in maintaining their control. Um so given the bipartisan nature of this issue, I think consistency and leveraging whatever we can to help American competitiveness, but also um supporting a diversification of the market will insulate us from the the undue control that they exert over us today. Uh, I agree with your assessment.
▶ 1:58:24We cannot continue to operate um Well, I'm about out of time. Uh, but I got a a few more questions here I'll submit for the record. Thank you again very much for your testimony and obviously we got to get off the dime here and get with it and uh I think we'll figure that out. Thank you for your help. I yield back. Gentleman yields. The chair now recognizes gentleman from Texas, Mr. Krenshaw, for five minutes for his questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh thank you to all our witnesses for for being here.
▶ 1:58:52Critical minerals are the backbone of a modern economy and a modern military from semiconductors to advanced weapon systems. Uh but today the US imports between 50% and 82% of the critical minerals we need. So where are they coming from? It's been mentioned plenty of times here. They're coming from China. That's not good. our national security, our national uh industrial base, our economic future dependent on supply chains we don't control from regimes we cannot trust. And why?
▶ 1:59:21Well, mostly because our laws and regulations have made it virtually impossible to open up new mines in this country. And even even when we do mine, we still have to ship the raw materials overseas just to get them refined because we've offshored our processing capabilities. Uh, I want to commend the Trump administration for taking some meaningful steps to address this with executive action. The executive order on critical minerals was a step in the right direction by cutting red tape. But we need to codify this. This is Congress's responsibility and we're behind.
▶ 1:59:51You know, China didn't dominate this space by accident. It's a long game. Decades of strategic investments and resourcerich nations across Africa, Asia, Latin America. In 2023, China was the top of supplier for 29 out of the 50 critical minerals identified by the US Geological Survey. So that's what it looks like when a global adversary plays chess. And we're still playing checkers. And I think it's time we act serious about this. Start securing our supply chains, rebuilding our refining capacity, and cutting the red tape that's left us dependent and vulnerable.
▶ 2:00:19I might add, I think this is becoming a more of a bipartisan issue. I think everybody starts to realize we we need these critical minerals. Um, my question, my first question for Mr. Hammond, can you explain how how one of the problems we have is there's a lot of rad radical environmental groups hold up holding up critical mineral uh mining and related infrastructure projects throughout the court system. I mean, it's not just critical mining, it's sometimes it's an off-ramp of a highway. Uh how how could we address that?
▶ 2:00:50So, that's a that's a incredible issue that you've brought up and it's a huge problem. I spoke earlier about judicial reform was what happens is you can go through as we've talked about earlier decades long process to get a mine off the ground. It could be approved by an agency but a a unfriendly environmental group can drop in uh file litigation and tie that same project up for additional years or kill it altogether.
▶ 2:01:18Capital only has you know can wait around for only so long before it goes to another place. So that's just one way that they have in their toolbox to kill our our progress on mining. Yeah. Is well I'm not sure it would be in our jurisdiction for judicial review but are there any particular bills that are that come to mind that that that seek to fix this problem that we should be aware of? So over the years I think um it's likely a judiciary but also a natural resources. They've looked at what's called EGA reform.
▶ 2:01:47Um, basically under EGA, you can file a litigation, uh, then go to the judge and he can award you attorney's fees at the end. So, we're basically as a federal government financing litigation against ourselves. Huh, that doesn't make sense. Um, what about unworkable environmental regulations that affect investment decisions for companies looking to develop domestic critical mining production or mineral production? Sure.
▶ 2:02:13So if you if you're a company that's looking to get involved in this business or expand operations in this country, it's fairly intimidating to look down the barrel of of the regulations that we've set forth. So what I I think the solution is giving um consistent and early guidance to companies what the federal government is going to require to get through a permitting process.
▶ 2:02:38Um, an investor recently told me that if you want if you want to unleash hundreds or billions of dollars in mining in the near future, tell a company that you're going to do an EIS in a year, not four years. And then they'll get then they'll get really interested and money will start to flow. Yeah. Um, as a general question, I mean, we we do we have those resources here in the United States that are just untapped. Yes.
▶ 2:03:03Um I think we spoke about that a little bit uh sooner but yes we have abundant critical minerals uh in this country. I think in the state of Utah alone we have 40 out of 50 critical minerals. So now look at California, Arizona and so on and so on. We have the potential here. Yep. I think it's important to keep in mind that we can't have a peacemail segmented process. We need to have the mineral extraction, the processing and the energy all at the same time or else we're we're we're not doing what we actually need to do to create the integrated supply chain.
▶ 2:03:32Well, that kind of gets my next question in my limited time with for Miss Sweeney. You know, China actively pursuing all these all these projects around the world. They have the full supply chain that you just mentioned. Is there any example in the United States where we have a full supply chain for any critical mineral? Um, burillium comes to mind um mined in Utah um processed in various facilities that are all under material on natural resources.
▶ 2:04:00So perhaps that case study requires more of our attention how we did that um and and maybe we can be replicated. I'm out of time. I yield back. Thank you. Gentleman yields. Chair now recognizes gentle lady from Florida, Miss Caster, for five minutes for her questions. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I I do believe that there is room for bipartisan cooperation and progress here over uh the past term in Congress.
▶ 2:04:24Congressman Rob Whitman and I led a critical minerals working group out of the select committee on uh countering the Chinese Communist Party. Some of you were um instrumental in helping us develop recommendations. So I highlight those to Energy and Commerce Committee. We actually hammered out a few pieces of legislation as well. But I have to admit I'm very frustrated by this.
▶ 2:04:45I this this hearing comes it's so inconsistent because so much of the progress that we've made over the past uh two administrations is being sabotaged right now. A lot of it's coming in the billionaire boondoggle bill uh that will take away a lot of the investments that we've made in shoring up our domestic critical mineral uh supply chains and strategies.
▶ 2:05:11We remember we invested through the also through the uh bipartisan infrastructure law uh at DOE for battery materials um to help us manufacturers expand what they're doing on processing and domestic supply.
▶ 2:05:27Uh we uh the DOE loan program office you know you're going after that in the billionaire bond bill that is the office loan program office that is helping uh the private sector make these important investments in d uh domestic critical mineral supply chains from mining to processing to reshoring and then we know uh that you have the uh important pieces of the inflation reduction act also in your site.
▶ 2:05:57So, you're taking you're you're kind of taking the best tools we've developed over the past few years uh away from being able to to strengthen our supply chains. And then you bring in this this arbitrary tariff policy too where you're poking our partners and allies like Canada and Australia imposing tariffs on them.
▶ 2:06:19So, how you know it's it I think uh my Republican colleagues in this administration have lost a strategic focus when it comes to how we build our own domestic supply chains here and incentivize the private sector to get involved. Um one example, um Miss Hunter, you testified in front of our critical minerals work group. Thank you very much.
▶ 2:06:44is the 30D clean vehicle tax credit that now is uh in the billionaire uh tax giveaway. They want to take that away. How will that impact our ability here in the US to to bolster our domestic critical mineral supply chains and how will that impact our national security? So, I haven't seen any of the final versions of the reconciliation text. So, please take this with my need to get back and review for further comments.
▶ 2:07:12But a successful critical minerals policy does leverage the US demand sectors that we've talked about with policy handcuffs that encourage them to source domestically as much as possible and then also avoid sourcing from adversaries. That's extremely critical and it must be well sequenced with the market. Similarly, we have to counteract cost disadvantages at home.
▶ 2:07:32The 45x tax credit does help attract investment here consistently over a long period of time and without that we risk the continued disinterest of investors and producers looking at the United States as an opportunity to process. Um so I I do think that we risk the undermining the president's very clear agenda for unleashing American minerals um and making sure we leverage domestic processing if unintentionally by by foregoing some of these important considerations in policy today. Thank you. Mr.
▶ 2:08:00H, you did very important work at the Department of Energy's manufacturing and energy supply chains office. Um, reporting at the end of 2024 suggested that DOE was considering as well how to do more to support US uh critical minerals projects working with all sorts of grant recipients that were struggling due to Chinese dumping and prize manipulation. Uh where should we go from here?
▶ 2:08:27I mean that's the jurisdiction of this committee uh oversight of that office. What can we do to support those efforts? And I know the u the demand signal is important but what do you what do you recommend to the So thank you uh congresswoman uh very important you know the IGA battery manufacturing grant program very important to the manufactur um leveraging of private sector
▶ 2:08:58funding to install first of a kind in many cases first of a kind production capacity in the United States and you know and it takes time uh to actually um launch those programs and then see production uh materials coming from them. So a consistent support for that, a continuation of the execution of that program is going to be so important.
▶ 2:09:23And for those companies that may be struggling in the near term, the 30D tax credits um basically do pro provide um that market pull for those materials that are going to be coming out of those facilities once they are actually in production. Thank you very much. I yield back. Gentle lady yields. The chair now recognizes the vice chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Dr. Joyce, for five minutes for his questions.
▶ 2:09:50Thank you, Chairman Palmer and Ranking Member Clark for holding this important hearing and thank you for our witnesses for testifying. Critical materials, specifically critical minerals, are required in many areas of manufacturing, ranging from products simple like a sunscreen to light bulbs to vital energy and to defense applications.
▶ 2:10:12A supply, a steady supply of critical minerals is essential to protect America's economic and our national security. Unfortunately, for decades, we have seated our advantage in the production and refining of these materials to other countries, specifically China.
▶ 2:10:31Over the last few years, we've seen the consequences of this domestic inaction as China bans or severely limits exports to the US of critical minerals essential to our national security. Let's be clear, we cannot continue to allow our biggest adversary to control the supply chain for these materials.
▶ 2:10:53That's why President Trump has taken executive action, declaring a national energy emergency and aiming to increase domestic production and the refining of critical minerals. However, executive action alone might not be enough to provide a stable environment to attract new investment in the critical mineral supply chain. Mr. Hammond.
▶ 2:11:18In your written statement, you discussed projects that languish indefinitely due to politics, including a permit to conduct due diligence on a potential mine that took three years under the last administration as opposed to the standard three months. Would you please elaborate on how the priorities of an administration can affect the implementation of the permitting process? Sure.
▶ 2:11:44Someone can say that critical minerals is a is a is important, but it's it's not a priority for an administration. You're not going to make any progress in that case. Like I said, a project stood stood still for three years for something that should have taken a matter of weeks. It was a project to drill sample holes from the back of a truck. So, it took three years. And this is just exploration. It's not even a full-blown mine. It's just to see if we should build a mine there. Now, the rest of the story of that is is even worse.
▶ 2:12:13They were ultimately sued and even that project is now held up. Incredibly unfortunate but revealing information you have provided with us. How can we ease companies concerns over the instability in political environments to ensure that the forward momentum of the Trump administration remains through future administrations. Mr. Hammond? Sure. I think this uh this Congress needs to look as we've said earlier permitting reform. I don't even like the term permitting reform because it's used so generically now.
▶ 2:12:42So more specifically, we have to look at narrowing the scope of NEPA and and looking at exactly what we require of project applicants. If you want to do a project in this committee room, you'd want to study the committee room, right? You might even study the Rayburn building because it will probably impact the rest of the Rayburn building. But the way stand things stand right now in the mining community, you're not only going to be looking at the RA at this hearing room, the Rayburn building, you're probably also looking at the Dirkson Senate building over there as well to see what the impacts are. It doesn't make any sense.
▶ 2:13:12You have to narrow the focus of what project proponents are required to study. Recognizing it's a chilling effect that you're describing on instability, how that can affect domestic investments, this committee included a provision in the reconciliation bill to establishing a d-risking compensation program at the Department of Energy.
▶ 2:13:32Under this program, applicants would be compensated for unreoverable capital losses resulting from federal actions that previously federal permitting projects made unviable. How would a program that we're including in this upcoming legislation which includes critical mineral projects as eligible applicants? How would that provide certainty to businesses and spur the investment that is so necessary when it comes to critical minerals? Mr. Hammond.
▶ 2:14:01So I think a project proponent would look at that and see that the federal government is making a commitment that would build confidence and that's ultimately what you need before you make any kind of investment decision and you're de-risking that that decision. So anything we can do to build confidence through a program like that.
▶ 2:14:18I think the president's also talked about something similar that if a future administration comes along and yanks a project like in the case of Keystone XL, there would be compensation involved to make a future administration think twice before they just yanked a project that has already had billions of dollars invested in it. Under President Trump and with cooperation from Energy and Commerce, this committee, we look to build that confidence.
▶ 2:14:43We must do more to capitalize on the positive progress that President Trump has achieved in such short time. And I look forward to working with stakeholders as well as my colleagues on this committee to take advantage of this finite opportunity. I thank you all for appearing here today. Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Gentleman yields. The chair now recognizes himself for five minutes for questions.
▶ 2:15:10Miss Hunter, you said something at the very beginning that caught my attention about China's strategic leveraging and and the bottleneck that that's been create created. Um, we've got access to rare elements here in the United States and critical minerals. We have the seventh most uh the most known reserves. So, when you it's it's not a matter of of having them.
▶ 2:15:38It's it's what we're able to do with them once we get them. So, would you like to comment on that? We we do have great progress especially on the light rare earths domestically. That's something that's a bright spot. But until until we can separate them, turn them into metal things that are happening in in the states that have been represented today. Then ultim ultimately we can't use them in the permanent magnets or robotics systems uh defense applications or energy solutions that we want to.
▶ 2:16:06So separation, metalization are key. We It's been mentioned that we could get rare earth elements from um recycling products. I think we get about 18% of our antimony from recycled car batteries. Uh we can recycle hard drives, computer equipment. Uh there's waste uh that we can recycle. When I say that, we're talking about mine tailings and and and collash things like that.
▶ 2:16:33Um would that be sufficient to meet our needs particularly in regard to our national security? Um so defense demand for these materials is substantially smaller than commercial demand. So without having the numbers and I can follow up with your staff to to validate we could make great progress using all forms of alternatives. Another way is to decrease demand for some commercial applications through you know alternative abundant source nonrear earth magnets in certain applications.
▶ 2:17:01Um and definitely leveraging alter uh full value mining as much as but that reduces the quality of the product but so use it in specific applications so not for defense applications so that we can then leverage the the higher quality um and qualified material for the defense applications in certain instances. So we have to yes and all of it if you look at it in the context of economic security is runs parallel with national security.
▶ 2:17:25I I don't think we can supply our needs just through recycling, but I do think recycling is is a viable solution. U Miss Sweeney, um when we talk about mining, u right now 95% of the rare earth concentrates that we produce in the United States are being exported to China for processing. And one of the thing points that I've made to the Trump administration is that the day we permit the mine, we need to permit the processing and the the smelting and the refining.
▶ 2:17:55So comment on on the importance of of of a collaborative effort to get all this done almost simultaneously and and that doesn't mean we'll if we start today we'll have it tomorrow. I I I work for two international engineering companies have a pretty good idea of how long it takes to build something. You know it's it's really important to scale up the mining and the processing together. Um that has to be coordinated to really secure our supply chains.
▶ 2:18:22Um, China has been able to do just that um in their investments around the world and in their own country and they get the value uh the value ad of the processing and that's something we're missing out and we import $171 billion worth of um refined minerals last year alone. Well, that's something Mr.
▶ 2:18:49Herot mentioned in his written testimony that we've we're stalling over a trillion dollars in US infrastructure investment. It and and that the extension of of what it does for the economy when you have this. It's not just the mine or the processor or the smelter or the refiner. There there other industries that are involved in that. And it's not just federal permitting, Mr. Hott.
▶ 2:19:15It's it's there are other u state and local governments that are involved. Uh talk a little bit about how we need to address this because I do think this is not only an economic security issue, it is a a pressing national security Microphone please. There is where there is a federal interest um because it's entirely supported by the private sector uh these backbone industries.
▶ 2:19:43the fact that the the neodymium that is in your microphone uh we give to China at a dollar, they sell it back to us at $500. And even as of this month, the architect at the capital is going to ask for a waiver to buy more from China uh for our own hearing room. But I just noticed I'm so short on time. I have another question I want to ask you specifically. You mentioned China's aging, processing, refining capacity. I think that's an enormous opportunity for the United States if we will act to build these these capacities ourselves.
▶ 2:20:14Could you comment on Yeah, very quickly. Um, the Trump executive order is happening right at the same time that that this is this window is opening up with China that will have a 10 to1 impact on any money that was produced by the IRA because that certainty is multiplied by the investment that is pouring into the United States that then has a multiplier effect of state and local income and and and the induced labor. So um this is the window to do it.
▶ 2:20:38They are retooling and refabricating their processing refinement separating and and metallergic processes that they built 20 years ago to beat us the first time. They can't reach the purity levels to meet the AI the semiconductor and and as I mentioned before um it's going to take them five six years to do that because they spent too much money developing uh dirty extraction processes in Mosmbique and Indonesia and elsewhere. Um this is the window to do it.
▶ 2:21:00Thank you Uh just as a a comment, I I really do believe this is a bipartisan issue and I think everybody on this subcommittee and and the full committee takes this very seriously. So I look forward to working with my colleagues. Seeing there's no further members wishing to ask questions, I would like to thank our witnesses again for being here today. Ask unanimous consent to insert into the record the document uh included on the staff hearing documents list. Without objection, that will be the order.
▶ 2:21:29Pursuant to committee rules, I remind members that they have 10 business days to submit additional questions for the record and ask that the witness submit their response within 10 business days upon receipt of the questions. Without objection, the subcommittee is