Max Baucus: “Our concern is with the proposed sale of palladium and platinum in the stockpile. The national defense stockpile of…”

“Our concern is with the proposed sale of palladium and platinum in the stockpile. The national defense stockpile of palladium represents the equivalent of 20 percent of the annual demand for this metal, and the national defense stockpile of platinum represents 5 percent of the national demand. The price of both of these metals is quite volatile. There is already some indication that just the recommendation for sale has had a depressive impact on the market price. Did the committee, when it included palladium and platinum among the materials to be disposed, examine the implications of disposition of palladium and platinum?”