National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012

Floor Speech

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Chair, today's legislation has more to do with undermining environmental review of mining on public lands than the production of rare earths and other critical minerals, and I will oppose it today.

Specifically, H.R. 4402 would let mining companies operating on public lands set time limits for each part of the environmental review process and then arbitrarily cap total environmental review time at 30 months. The bill then elevates mining over hunting, fishing, grazing, conservation and any other public purpose and places new restrictions on judicial review. Finally, the definition of ``strategic and critical minerals'' in this legislation is so broad as to encompass virtually every mineral that is or could be mined on public lands--including such common materials as sand, clay and gravel. If the majority was seriously interested in targeting the production of strategic and critical minerals on public lands, we would have adopted the amendment offered by our colleague Rep. PAUL TONKO expressly for that purpose. Instead, the Tonko amendment was defeated on a party line vote and so we are left with the serious defects of the underlying legislation.

Madam Chair, we can responsibly develop our natural resources and protect our environment at the same time. H.R. 4402 ignores that central truth and should be opposed by every member of this body.

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