Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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Mr. WITTMAN. Yes, in its current form.

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, uranium is essential to both our national security and energy security. It supplies many critical military technologies and fuels our domestic nuclear reactors, which provide 20 percent of our Nation's electricity.

Early this summer, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued findings that concluded ``uranium is being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.''

Most recently, President Trump agreed, saying ``that the United States uranium industry faces significant challenges in producing uranium domestically and that this is an issue of national security.''

This bill would have a negative impact on our national security and energy security, as it aims to permanently prohibit the mining of rare earths and critical minerals on over 1 million acres of public land, increasing our dependence on imported foreign sources of uranium.

My motion to recommit would delay the implementation of this legislation until the Secretary of the Interior issues a report concluding that this permanent, million-acre withdrawal of lands from mineral development will not increase U.S. imports of critical minerals like uranium from countries hostile to the United States' interests-- countries like former Soviet Union bloc countries or Namibia, where the Chinese have taken control of uranium mines.

Increasingly, our adversaries like China and Russia are competing for natural resources and using them as proxies to extend their political and strategic aims.

The U.S. is losing our domestic uranium production capacity and becoming more reliant on uranium imports from countries that do not have our best interests in mind, and this bill would only exacerbate the problem.

In 2018, 97 percent of U.S. demand for uranium was met by foreign imports. At least 51 percent of those uranium imports were sourced from countries that are unfriendly to the United States, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Chinese-owned mines in Namibia.

In the past, we have been able to rely on friendly countries for these resources. Unfortunately, uranium imports from Australia and Canada have been declining in recent years. Currently, only one Canadian mine remains operational, creating an increasingly fragile supply chain. As a result, we are becoming more dependent on China and Russia for critical natural resources.

I have dedicated my time on the Armed Services Committee to maintaining a strong defense industrial base in the face of increased near-peer competition from China and Russia. These adversaries are weaponizing natural resources like uranium to implement a dedicated strategy that advances their geopolitical aims while undermining our own.

We should not allow our adversaries to dominate the mining, production, and markets of these critical resources. If we do, we weaken our position and are subject to increased economic and military pressure from Beijing and Moscow.

It would be shortsighted to permanently lock away the highest grade and largest deposit of uranium in this country. Instead of rushing headlong into permanently restricting 1 million acres of uranium-rich land, we absolutely must understand the true impacts of this legislation and the long-term, true impacts on the national security of our country.

Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can conserve our natural resources and make sure we protect our national security. To do anything less is an abandonment of our responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support our national security, support this motion to recommit, and vote against H.R. 1373.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

A recorded vote was ordered.

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

A recorded vote was ordered.

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