Nick Rahall: “While I strongly support efforts to enhance our domestic security by reducing our reliance on foreign sources of…”

“While I strongly support efforts to enhance our domestic security by reducing our reliance on foreign sources of strategic and critical minerals, but aside from its short title, the pending legislation has nothing to do with that goal. In fact, this legislation provides relief to any and all types of minerals on public lands--minerals such as gold, silver and copper produced under the Mining Law of 1872. These are minerals that are mined for free, with no royalty charged in return for their removal from lands owned by all Americans. Yet, the pending legislation would provide multi-national conglomerates with even more relief in their pursuit of mining free gold from federal lands. It is not limited in scope to, for instance, rare earth minerals used in fuel cells and solar panels among other applications. Rare earths are certainly strategic and critical. Instead, the bill provides relief to any ``mineral exploration or mine permit'' with plans of operations issued by the BLM under its 3809 regulation and the Forest Service under it counterpart regulations. Read the bill. Look up those regulations.…”