Juan Ciscomani: “I thank Chairman Westerman for yielding me time and for clarifying a series of those points that were expressed by our…”

“I thank Chairman Westerman for yielding me time and for clarifying a series of those points that were expressed by our friends on the other side of the aisle that he clarified so well. I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 8446, the Critical Mineral Consistency Act. This bill, which passed with bipartisan support through the House Committee on Natural Resources and was recently introduced in the Senate, also with bipartisan co-leads, would require the U.S. Geological Survey to incorporate critical materials identified by the Department of Energy into the USGS critical minerals list. Under the Energy Act of 2020, items appearing on the USGS critical minerals list are automatically included on the DOE's Critical Materials List. However, items on the DOE list are not reciprocated to the USGS list. This discrepancy is confusing to mineral producers and makes it unclear which minerals are critical to the United States' mission. In addition to creating unnecessary confusion, the disconnect between the two lists puts our domestic supply chain at risk. Other countries like China and Peru have specifically articulated and invested in the minerals they deem critical. Meanwhile, here in the United States, several minerals are indisputably essential to our national security and clean energy economy, such as copper, electrical steel, flourine, silicon, and silicon carbide.…”