Pete Stauber

“I support this bill. It permanently speeds up federal reviews and permits for American mining projects. This protects these projects from being blocked when a new president takes office.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1501, the Protecting Domestic Mining Act, which will ensure domestic mining projects are able to enjoy the benefits of title 41 of the bipartisan and wildly successful FAST Act. I thank my colleague Representative Shreve for his leadership in bringing this legislation forward. The FAST Act has been used to permit and build countless projects that are necessary for our country’s national and economic security, and under the Trump administration, mining projects have been eligible and have advanced. By codifying mining and mineral processing projects, we will ensure that these important projects are able to enjoy this benefit, no matter if we have a pro-mining President like President Trump in office or an anti-mining President like President Biden in office. My district in northern Minnesota is home to proposed projects like the NewRange Copper Nickel project, which is enjoying the benefits of FAST-41 as a transparency list project as they pursue their section 404 permit under the Clean Water Act, a permit that was pulled by the previous administration for purely political reasons. Thanks to FAST-41, I am confident NewRange won’t fall through the cracks and will be granted their permit when they meet and exceed all our strict environmental standards. This is a great benefit more for not only northern Minnesota but a benefit for our entire Nation and our strategic mineral national security. By codifying mining and mineral processing projects’ eligibility into law, NewRange and other important projects won’t have to worry about the rug being pulled out from them again the next time we see a change in administrations. It will further give a strong signal to the private sector that the Federal Government is committed to securing our mineral security and mineral independence, no matter who is in the White House. Representative Shreve’s legislation will send a strong signal: We are ready to mine here in the United States once again.”

“I want the House to pass this bill. It delays new fishing rules meant to protect right whales until 2035. Putting the rules in place too fast by 2028 will hurt Maine lobster fishermen and the New England economy. We need more time to make rules that protect whales without ruining local businesses.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 9436, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, introduced by my good friends, Representative Lawler and Representative Golden of Maine. Each and every day, onerous regulations negatively impact our constituents along with the local economies and local communities that we represent. Too often, here in Washington, these onerous regulations are put in place without a full understanding of the impact that they will have on the ground. These regulations often set unreasonable standards or are set to go into effect on unreasonable timelines. The regulations on the North Atlantic right whale, which are currently mandated to be implemented by the end of 2028, are an example of these unreasonable timelines that will have a negative impact on local and regional economies across New England and will have an outsized impact on the Maine lobstermen. This bipartisan legislation before us today does not weaken protections for the North Atlantic right whale. The legislation simply delays implementation of these new regulations so we can get it right. This legislation will allow adequate time to seek input from affected industries and communities, ensuring we have fit-for-purpose regulations that will protect the North Atlantic right whale. Failure to do this the right way and allow time for the right regulations to be developed could devastate the local economy and our fisheries across New England. Mr. Speaker, I commend my good friend Representative Golden for standing up for his constituents and for working with Representative Lawler to bring this legislation forward. Representative Golden is from Maine. He wants this for his constituents and the lobster fishermen from Maine. I think that we ought to listen to Representative Golden, who, in my humble opinion, has been one of the most effective Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 9436.”