Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill brings together two agencies that don't usually interact, the United States Geological Survey, USGS, and the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS. H.R. 6395, the Recognizing the Importance of Critical Minerals in Healthcare Act of 2023, would add HHS as a consulting agency for the development of USGS' critical minerals list. USGS publishes and updates this list every 3 years and, as directed by the Energy Act of 2020, consults with the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, Agriculture, and Energy and the United States Trade Representative in crafting each iteration. Why is it important to include HHS as a consulting agency? The critical minerals list constitutes a collection of minerals deemed necessary for economic and national security and whose supply chains are vulnerable to disruption. There are many mineral applications in the healthcare industry. For example, radioisotopes derived from low-enriched uranium are used in over 40,000 imaging procedures in the U.S. daily, enabling diagnoses of cancer and heart disease, and liquid helium is frequently used as a coolant in MRI machines. By requiring DOI to consult with HHS, H.R. 6395 would ensure that medical uses of these minerals and the ramifications that any supply disruption could have on the healthcare economy are adequately considered when evaluating critical minerals list designations. Again, I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr.…”