Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative Authorization Act of 2026
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A bill telling the EPA to keep doing a thing it already does: digging useful minerals out of toxic waste sites, capped at a modest $10 million a year and expiring in ten years. Everyone agreed. Republicans praised it for beating China on critical minerals, a Democrat managed to blame Trump for energy prices anyway, and one member mentioned his own district has dirty places. In a rare burst of legislative efficiency, the whole thing passed with almost no dissent and no one even pretended there was a controversy.Written by GLM 5.3 Flash. Updated .
“Let's vote to pass this bill right away. I'm reading the title now.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It sets up an EPA program to recover critical materials from polluted sites.”
“Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9616) to establish a program for the recovery of critical materials from contaminated sites, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9616) to establish a program for the recovery of critical materials from contaminated sites, and for other purposes. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:
“I want this bill to pass. Some dirty places have useful stuff we can get out. My friends made this bill. The EPA already does some of this. The bill would make it official and bigger. Both sides liked it before. Please vote for it.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It officially approves and expands an EPA program that recovers useful materials from polluted sites.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of contaminated sites across the United States, and the waste materials present at these sites may be rich sources of critical materials that can be recovered with the right technology. That is why my colleagues, Representatives Pfluger and Landsman, have introduced the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative, or EMRTAI, Authorization Act of 2026. The EPA already operates a similar program through general authorities, but this legislation formally authorizes the program, expands it to include other types of contaminated sites, and provides guidance to EPA in selecting which projects to support. This legislation enjoyed broad bipartisan support at the committee level, and I urge my colleagues in the House to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of contaminated sites across the United States, and the waste materials present at these sites may be rich sources of critical materials that can be recovered with the right technology. That is why my colleagues, Representatives Pfluger and Landsman, have introduced the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative, or EMRTAI, Authorization Act of 2026. The EPA already operates a similar program through general authorities, but this legislation formally authorizes the program, expands it to include other types of contaminated sites, and provides guidance to EPA in selecting which projects to support. This legislation enjoyed broad bipartisan support at the committee level, and I urge my colleagues in the House to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
“I want this bill to pass. We can clean dirty places and get useful stuff from them at the same time. Many places are dirty. My district has dirty places too. Taxpayers pay to clean them. We need that stuff for clean energy. Trump is to blame for high energy prices. The bill will help get that stuff out of dirty places. It will also make people clean up dirty places. It is good for the environment and good for getting that stuff. Please vote for the bill.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. It helps the EPA clean up polluted land and collect important minerals from the waste. We need these minerals for clean energy to help lower families' energy bills.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9616, the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative Authorization Act. This bill would help us reach the dual goals of cleaning up toxic sites while also ensuring critical minerals found at those sites don't go to waste. This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to identify and recover critical minerals from contaminated sites. There are countless Superfund and other contaminated industrial sites across the country, including in my home district. Many of these sites have been abandoned for decades, with local communities suffering the consequences. While we clean up through public funds, we could also help replenish our domestic supply of critical minerals needed for clean energy projects to save American families money on soaring energy bills, and those bills are soaring now thanks to Trump's reckless war of choice in Iran. This program is a shot in the arm for emerging technologies to extract critical minerals from contaminated sites and waste that would otherwise sit in landfills. It also has an added benefit of incentivizing cleanups of some of the world's worst toxic sites in the Nation. This program is a clear win-win for the environment and our domestic supply chain. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 9616, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9616, the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative Authorization Act. This bill would help us reach the dual goals of cleaning up toxic sites while also ensuring critical minerals found at those sites don't go to waste. This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to identify and recover critical minerals from contaminated sites. There are countless Superfund and other contaminated industrial sites across the country, including in my home district. Many of these sites have been abandoned for decades, with local communities suffering the consequences. While we clean up through public funds, we could also help replenish our domestic supply of critical minerals needed for clean energy projects to save American families money on soaring energy bills, and those bills are soaring now thanks to Trump's reckless war of choice in Iran. This program is a shot in the arm for emerging technologies to extract critical minerals from contaminated sites and waste that would otherwise sit in landfills. It also has an added benefit of incentivizing cleanups of some of the world's worst toxic sites in the Nation. This program is a clear win-win for the environment and our domestic supply chain. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 9616, and I reserve the balance of my time.
“I want this bill to pass. It is my bill. I want to talk about it. Some stuff we need is hard to get. Our enemies control that stuff. We need to get that stuff here. We can get some stuff from dirty places. Some places are very dirty. Texas has a way to get that stuff. We should get that stuff. We should clean up those places too. The government already spends money on cleaning dirty places. My bill tells the EPA to do it. Both sides should vote yes.”
“I want the House to pass this bill. We depend too much on other countries, like China, for minerals needed in energy, defense, and technology. This bill tells the EPA to help find and recover these important minerals from polluted sites while cleaning them up.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of my bill, H.R. 9616, the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative, or EMRTAI, Authorization Act of 2026. Critical materials are essential to some of the most important technologies and products in the communications, energy, defense, and transportation sectors. However, their supply chains are vulnerable to disruption, and we rely on other nations, including adversaries such as China, for many of them. China is currently responsible for over 70 percent of global rare earths metal production and refines up to 87 percent of the world's supply of critical minerals. Unless we develop more domestic sources for critical materials, we will remain at the mercy of our enemies. Fortunately, cutting-edge technologies are emerging to identify and take advantage of unconventional sources of critical materials right here at home. For example, in my home State of Texas, researchers and companies are exploring ways to recover lithium and other critical minerals from produced water generated during oil and gas production. The Permian Basin alone generates millions of barrels of produced water every day, one of the largest produced water streams in the world. The sheer volume of that water can present a challenge but also presents an incredible opportunity to recover valuable critical minerals from a resource that has been historically treated as a waste stream. Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of contaminated sites across the United States, including over 1,300 on the EPA's National Priorities List of the country's most contaminated sites. Additionally, on Federal lands alone, the Federal Government has spent over $100 million remediating contamination from abandoned hardrock mine sites. However, while these sites are threats to human health and the environment, they can be good sources of critical minerals. The EMRTAI Authorization Act of 2026 directs the EPA to stand up a program to support methods to identify and recover critical materials at contaminated sites, contributing to the development of new domestic sources and encouraging the remediation of these sites. EPA already has experience funding such projects. Addressing our supply chain vulnerability is a daunting challenge, but creative solutions that leverage technological innovation play a major role in solving it. I am grateful that we can work across the aisle to advance this legislation, and I thank my colleague from Ohio, Mr. Landsman, for joining me in leading this endeavor. Mr. Speaker, I encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of my bill, H.R. 9616, the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative, or EMRTAI, Authorization Act of 2026. Critical materials are essential to some of the most important technologies and products in the communications, energy, defense, and transportation sectors. However, their supply chains are vulnerable to disruption, and we rely on other nations, including adversaries such as China, for many of them. China is currently responsible for over 70 percent of global rare earths metal production and refines up to 87 percent of the world's supply of critical minerals. Unless we develop more domestic sources for critical materials, we will remain at the mercy of our enemies. Fortunately, cutting-edge technologies are emerging to identify and take advantage of unconventional sources of critical materials right here at home. For example, in my home State of Texas, researchers and companies are exploring ways to recover lithium and other critical minerals from produced water generated during oil and gas production. The Permian Basin alone generates millions of barrels of produced water every day, one of the largest produced water streams in the world. The sheer volume of that water can present a challenge but also presents an incredible opportunity to recover valuable critical minerals from a resource that has been historically treated as a waste stream. Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of contaminated sites across the United States, including over 1,300 on the EPA's National Priorities List of the country's most contaminated sites. Additionally, on Federal lands alone, the Federal Government has spent over $100 million remediating contamination from abandoned hardrock mine sites. However, while these sites are threats to human health and the environment, they can be good sources of critical minerals. The EMRTAI Authorization Act of 2026 directs the EPA to stand up a program to support methods to identify and recover critical materials at contaminated sites, contributing to the development of new domestic sources and encouraging the remediation of these sites. EPA already has experience funding such projects. Addressing our supply chain vulnerability is a daunting challenge, but creative solutions that leverage technological innovation play a major role in solving it. I am grateful that we can work across the aisle to advance this legislation, and I thank my colleague from Ohio, Mr. Landsman, for joining me in leading this endeavor. Mr. Speaker, I encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.
“I want to thank the other two people. They worked on the bill. People should vote yes on the bill. That's all.”
“I want the House to vote yes on this bill.”
“Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank my friend from Texas, Mr. Pfluger, and my friend from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Landsman, just across the river from our great Commonwealth, for working together on this piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank my friend from Texas, Mr. Pfluger, and my friend from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Landsman, just across the river from our great Commonwealth, for working together on this piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
