Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairman, this amendment is directly contrary to the intent of this bill that would create new jobs in the United States and ensure a stable domestic supply of the critical minerals that are so important to our economy. This amendment would impose an entirely new, retroactive fee on mining operations on Federal lands. It would impose a royalty that would be one of the highest of any country in the world and, thus, would probably drive more mining jobs overseas and put American manufacturing, once again, at risk. In the past, when we've had this issue in front of the Natural Resources Committee, we've had Democrat witnesses that have testified that an 8 percent gross royalty was unprecedented in the world and would not make economic sense, and yet this amendment is talking about a 12.5 percent gross royalty. In 2006, the World Bank report cautioned against gross royalty approaches as compared to ability-to-pay or profit-based approaches. Madam Chair, let me quote directly from that report: Nations should carefully weigh the immediate fiscal rewards to be granted from high levels of royalty against the long- term benefits to be gained from a sustainable mining industry that will contribute to long-term development, infrastructure, and economic diversification. So they argue directly against this type of approach. Let us keep our focus on what is important here today.…”