Angie Craig: “let me say first to the Senators from Arkansas and New Hampshire, this has to be one of the most gratuitous taxes on the…”

“let me say first to the Senators from Arkansas and New Hampshire, this has to be one of the most gratuitous taxes on the mining industry you have yet come up with. Let me be blunt, let me be honest: Every citizen benefits from the wealth of the products that flow from mining, and certainly disabled Americans have benefited considerably from light metal technology and advanced computer technology that depends on our mining industry. It has made them mobile. It has made them active. It has changed their lives. The Senator from New Hampshire knows better than to say that mining industries don't pay taxes. They are in the 32 percent bracket on the profits of those industries. Everyone knows that, and that kind of statement ought to be taken from the record because it simply is not true. What is true is that the mining industry is characterized by relatively rare, commercially valuable metal deposits and mineral deposits. There is high economic risk, geologic unknowns, high capital requirements, and long lead times for the development of the mining companies. We know that, and that is why this Congress years ago provided that depletion allowance, because mining industries invest so much upfront for a resource that is rapidly depleting as they mine it out. It recognizes, by this action and by what Congress has already done, unique natural mineral extraction provides for this country the valuable base for our industrial-based economy.”