Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Republican Rob Bishop (R-Utah) issued the following statement on the House Committee on Rules Democrats rejection of an amendment from Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to H.R. 2500, the National Defense Authorization Act. This amendment required the federal government to identify minerals that are critical to the United States and ensured a robust domestic mineral supply.  

 "America’s mineral dependency has reached a fever pitch, and Democrats have their heads in the sand. Their failure to embrace this thoughtful bipartisan policy improvement, much less admit this security threat even exists, is reprehensible. The only way to ensure we have the things we need is to get them ourselves. American independence is not merely a quaint catchphrase, it is the ideal which keeps our country safe and free.”