WASHINGTON, D.C. – Against the backdrop of trade tensions, ongoing concerns from Americans about where we get our minerals, and growing import reliance for the minerals needed for the U.S. manufacturing, energy and defense supply chains, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva is driving legislation that would make it more difficult to mine in the U.S.
The “Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2019,” (H.R. 2579) would add punitive fees on industry, place even more minerals-rich lands off-limits to mining, and further harm U.S. competitiveness, despite the fact that Americans want just the opposite. In new polling conducted by Morning Consult for the National Mining Association (NMA), more than six in 10 Americans say they are concerned about America’s increasing reliance on imports for minerals and want the government to encourage the use of domestically-mined minerals.
“This legislation – versions of which we have seen repeatedly over the years, with each iteration more unreasonable than its predecessor, and rightfully defeated – is a clear example of Congress being out of step with global market realities of future technology demands, voter concerns and American priorities,” said Rich Nolan, President and Chief Executive Officer of NMA. “The same supporters of ‘green’ energy, which hinges on the development and deployment of technologies that will exponentially increase our demand for minerals, are pushing punitive proposals that will make those technologies impossible to scale up. From electric vehicles to solar panels to batteries to the entire electric grid, access to massive amounts of minerals like copper, silver, nickel, lithium and more, will be key to ramping up production to meet the forecasted demand. The U.S. needs more metals and minerals, not less.”
Today, less than half of the mineral needs of U.S. manufacturing are met from domestically-mined minerals, and we are 100 percent import-dependent for 18 key minerals. That import dependence has nearly doubled from what it was 20 years ago.
Polling was conducted August 29 – September 01, 2019, among a national sample of 2,200 adults and carries a margin of error of +/-2.
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