Great Lakes Wire

WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce the United States’ reliance on China and adversarial nations for critical minerals. Critical minerals and rare earth metals are used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, military equipment, and other technology that is vital to American economic competitiveness and homeland security. China is currently the largest source for more than half of the critical minerals on the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2022 list that the United States imports, such as lithium and cobalt. The senators’ bill would address this threat to our manufacturing supply chains by creating an intergovernmental task force to identify opportunities to increase domestic production and recycling of critical minerals.

“Our manufacturing sector and our global economic competitiveness depend on reliable access to critical minerals. Our nation’s dependence on adversarial nations like China for critical minerals poses serious national security and economic threats,” said Senator Peters. “This bill will strengthen our domestic critical minerals supply chain, create good-paying jobs, and ensure our advanced manufacturing sector can continue to compete on the global stage.”

The bipartisan Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director to create a task force and appoint representatives from federal agencies who must consult with state, local, and Tribal governments. The task force will work to determine how to address national security risks associated with America’s critical mineral supply chains and identify new domestic opportunities for mining, processing, refinement, reuse, and recycling of critical minerals. The legislation would also require the task force to publish a report to Congress and publish findings, guidelines, and recommendations to combat the United States’ reliance on China and other foreign nations for critical minerals.

Original source can be found here