Today, House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and 20 bipartisan cosponsors introduced H.R. 2011, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011. As part of the American Energy Initiative, this bill will help strengthen and improve our national mineral policy by requiring a government wide survey of American mineral resources, demands and factors impacting mineral development, including workforce, permitting and regulations. A legislative hearing on this bill will be held on Friday, June 3 at 9:30am in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

Strategic and critical minerals are essential to our economy, livelihood and national security. Renewable energy, national defense equipment, agriculture and everyday items such as televisions, telephones, computers and light bulbs are all dependent on minerals. Currently the United States relies on foreign sources for a majority of our non-fuel mineral materials and, according to the USGS, is 100% dependent on foreign sources for rare earth minerals.

“Strategic and critical minerals play a fundamental role in the health of our economy yet many questions remain unanswered about these vital American mineral resources. We don’t know which federal lands are open for mineral development. We also lack a decent assessment of the permitting timelines for projects on federal lands, associated litigation, and hurdles to domestic development. The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011 will increase our understanding of our national mineral needs and identify the barriers to meeting those needs. This way America can domestically produce the resources needed to produce energy, defend our nation, build our infrastructure, create jobs, secure our manufacturing base, and keep our economy healthy.” – Subcommittee Chairman Lamborn.

“The United States’ minerals policy is outdated and inefficient and action must be taken to eliminate the hurdles that are blocking domestic production. Critical minerals are vital to renewable energy production and therefore are an important part of an all-of-the-above energy plan. This bill is the first step towards bolstering production of our vast American mineral resources to reduce dependence on unstable foreign sources, create jobs and improve our national security.” – House Natural Resources Chairman Hastings.

The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011:

• Directs the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate a government wide assessment of the Nation’s mineral resources and availability to meet current and future strategic and critical mineral needs.

• Requires the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate factors impacting domestic mineral development, including workforce, access, permitting and duplicative regulatory requirements as well as identify areas for improvement.

• Directs the Interior Department to assemble the report within six months.

• Requires an annual progress report, beginning one year after the date of enactment of the Act for the following two years, outlining the progress made in reaching the policy goals described in the bill.

Original cosponsors of the bill:

Doug Lamborn (R-CO) – Primary Sponsor
Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Don Young (R-AK)
John J. Duncan (R-TN)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Rob Bishop (R-UT)
John Fleming (R-LA)
Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
Daniel Benishek (R-MI)
David Rivera (R-FL)
Scott Tipton (R-CO)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Andy Harris (R-MD)
Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN)
Bill Johnson (R-OH)
Dan Boren (D-OK)
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
Mike Simpson (R-ID)
Jim Matheson (D-UT)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)

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