In order for the United States to remain competitive in this century, we must have access to a reliable supply of critical minerals.

I have heard some of my colleagues from the other side intimate that because there are critical minerals found in clean energy development, that that means that we should pump the brakes on rolling out clean energy to reverse climate…

I think your approach is one that will meet this extreme demand in a shorter period of time than going out and building from scratch.

Well, what more can we do? Because many times it is a capacity issue, technical-skilled personnel to redo your zoning code so that, one, you allow affordable housing, but two, you do maintain, in many respects, the character of the…

There is a lot of political pressure around which minerals are on this list or not.

Right. I just have a sense from my experience in Rhode Island is that there is kind of this built-in resistance because there is a--we do not want to change the character of the community, et cetera, et cetera.

Reforming our decades old immigration laws is long overdue.

Showering tax cuts on the wealthy, and on big MAGA donors, and on big oil, are in my view not serious pathways to fiscal responsibility.

Economists and experts agree that expanding lawful immigration pathways to the U.S. will grow our workforce, our productivity, and our economy.

Time and again the solutions have been there. But politics has kept Congress from taking the necessary actions.

I very much hope that we will try again, and perhaps on the basis of the testimony here, have more success.

So it suggests State action as well as Federal action.

I think your approach is one that will meet this extreme demand in a shorter period of time than going out and building from scratch.

Well, what more can we do? Because many times it is a capacity issue, technical-skilled personnel to redo your zoning code so that, one, you allow affordable housing, but two, you do maintain, in many respects, the character of the…

So it suggests State action as well as Federal action.

Right. I just have a sense from my experience in Rhode Island is that there is kind of this built-in resistance because there is a--we do not want to change the character of the community, et cetera, et cetera.

Yes, and on that, and I know you spoke to this earlier, but I think this is an important point, in addition to sourcing these critical minerals, we need to be focused on recycling them and using them efficiently because they are scarce.

We do have a humanitarian crisis at the border and the way you deal with a humanitarian crisis is with humanity.