Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on three bills addressing various needs of the domestic mining sector. Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) released the following statement in response:

"It’s critical to support American mining to secure our supply chains and create jobs. At today’s legislative hearing we heard about bills that will strengthen our American mining workforce and reclaim past mines which will create good paying jobs in rural communities across America. Additionally, we covered a proposal to undo yet another mineral withdrawal put in place by the Biden Administration, this time in Nevada. We must unlock our nation’s vast mineral resources, and undoing this mineral withdrawal is one more step in the right direction."

Background

The bills discussed in today's hearing would expand mining access, create a grant program for mining schools and support the remediation of abandoned mine land sites.

H.R. ___, the Community Reclamation Partnerships Act, would grant liability protection to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to participate in clean-up projects of inactive and abandoned coal mines. This bill creates a pathway for NGOs to contribute their resources towards reclamation and lessens the burden on states and taxpayers.

H.R. 3883 addresses the concerns of local governments and mineral operators by nullifying the withdrawal of 23,000 acres from mineral development near Nye County, Nev. This withdrawal may impact their ability to access existing mineral rights, and will preclude expansion of operations in the future.

H.R. 2685 would help build out mining educational programs and support student recruitment to reverse the decline of the domestic mining workforce. A competitive grant program established through the Department of Energy will support educational programs related to mineral extraction, mine reclamation, refining and processing technologies, geological engineering, supply chain analysis and other relevant fields.