Discussion · House of Representatives
Mike Kennedy Republican
“I want the House to pass this bill. Our economy and military need minerals, but right now it takes too long to get government approval to mine them here. This bill speeds up the review process so we do not have to depend on other countries for our minerals.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman, Representative Shreve, and colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee for their work on this important piece of legislation. Every modern economy, every advanced technology, and every military capability depends on these kinds of minerals. Copper, iron, lithium, rare earths, and other minerals are essential to our power grid, our manufacturing base, our defense systems, and the technologies that will define our future. Yet, we continue to rely heavily on foreign nations, including our geopolitical adversaries, for the minerals we need to manufacture these products. That is a national security vulnerability. The problem is not that America lacks these resources. We certainly have them. The problem is that it has become easier to permit a mine almost anywhere else on Earth than here at home, so the mine is developed somewhere else; jobs go somewhere else; and the supply chain we depend on ends up running through countries that do not wish us well. Endless permitting uncertainty does not protect anything. It simply hands our competitors the advantage over the industries that power our economy and national defense. I represent Utah, and I have seen what responsible mineral development looks like. Utah has a proud history of it. Today, mining supports in our State more than 43,000 jobs and contributes billions of dollars to our economy. The Protecting Domestic Mining Act takes an important step toward fixing that problem. It ensures that mining and mineral processing projects can benefit from a predictable and coordinated permitting process. Republicans are cutting through Washington’s red tape to give American producers the certainty that they need. Without it, nothing gets built. No one invests billions in a mine that takes a decade to complete if the rules might be rewritten in 4 years. Mr. Speaker, this is about whether America can still build what it needs. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.”
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman, Representative Shreve, and colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee for their work on this important piece of legislation. Every modern economy, every advanced technology, and every military capability depends on these kinds of minerals. Copper, iron, lithium, rare earths, and other minerals are essential to our power grid, our manufacturing base, our defense systems, and the technologies that will define our future. Yet, we continue to rely heavily on foreign nations, including our geopolitical adversaries, for the minerals we need to manufacture these products. That is a national security vulnerability. The problem is not that America lacks these resources. We certainly have them. The problem is that it has become easier to permit a mine almost anywhere else on Earth than here at home, so the mine is developed somewhere else; jobs go somewhere else; and the supply chain we depend on ends up running through countries that do not wish us well. Endless permitting uncertainty does not protect anything. It simply hands our competitors the advantage over the industries that power our economy and national defense. I represent Utah, and I have seen what responsible mineral development looks like. Utah has a proud history of it. Today, mining supports in our State more than 43,000 jobs and contributes billions of dollars to our economy. The Protecting Domestic Mining Act takes an important step toward fixing that problem. It ensures that mining and mineral processing projects can benefit from a predictable and coordinated permitting process. Republicans are cutting through Washington’s red tape to give American producers the certainty that they need. Without it, nothing gets built. No one invests billions in a mine that takes a decade to complete if the rules might be rewritten in 4 years. Mr. Speaker, this is about whether America can still build what it needs. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.