National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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I want to thank Chairman Lamborn and my good friend and fellow Western Caucus member, Nevada Representative Amodei, for their work on this important legislation.

Mr. Chairman, let me start by addressing why strategic minerals matter and why we ought to have a piece of legislation like this.

My home State of Wyoming is the headquarters for our Nation's nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile force. These missiles ensure that those who would do us harm are deterred from using nuclear weapons. These weapons are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but they need regular maintenance and replacement components. Rare earth elements are an important part of these components--from batteries, to computer chips, to display screens and engines. These components--components vital to our technological edge--would require elements that can be difficult to procure.

Now, China controls nearly 80 percent of rare earth production. As we know, China has used this leverage to bully our allies, to limit exports at a time of a dispute, especially recently, with Japan over the control of islands in the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy plans to conduct operations in the area to remind China of the importance of respecting maritime boundaries and the freedom of navigation; but China is using its 80 percent share of rare earth minerals to leverage our allies. They can do it anytime they want because they have such massive control of this resource.

The bill that Mr. Amodei is sponsoring, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, would simplify the permitting process for domestic mines that will provide resources used in components that are vital to our national security. That is why we need to do it.

Here is an example of the existing problem.

In my home State of Wyoming, the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project has been going through the current process since 2011. It will be the only large-scale production facility in the U.S. for some rare earth elements designated as critical by the U.S. Department of Energy. They have to coordinate their permit application between the Forest Service, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Energy.

Under Mr. Amodei's legislation, one Federal agency would become the lead agency and set project timelines for permit applications and decisions. The total review process would not be authorized to exceed 30 months unless extended by all parties involved. These parties would include State and local governments and local stakeholders. This ensures that local voices will be heard.

Mr. Chairman, I cannot emphasize enough how important I think this legislation is. I am a cosponsor of the legislation. It passed the House in previous Congresses on a bipartisan basis. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1937. I thank Mr. Amodei for his thoughtful consideration of this bill.

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