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During the COVID pandemic China stopped shipping personal protective equipment (PPE) to the United States and Europe exposing the vulnerabilities of our supply chains. Because of our dependence on China, we are now facing another crisis in the acquisition of processed and refined rare earth elements and other critical minerals that are essential to our economic and national security. To begin addressing this threat, I chaired a hearing in Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations focused on “Examining Ways to Enhance Our Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains”. We must secure our critical minerals supply chain and work towards mining and refining the minerals we have here on U.S. soil for our national security and economic well-being.
Critical minerals and rare earth elements are used in items we use every day like smart phones, computer hard drives, televisions and control panels for all types of appliances and equipment. They are required for electric vehicle batteries, for components of our national power grid and for the electronics in automobiles and heavy equipment and for military equipment and weapons systems.
The U.S. used to be the leading producer and refiner of many critical minerals, including rare earth elements. By the late 1990s, however, most of this industry dissolved and moved overseas. Currently, there is not one major rare earth element refinery in the entire Western Hemisphere and only nine in the world; eight are in China and the other in Malaisia. Obviously, this is both an economic issue and an issue of national security. We as a nation must ensure that we have access to these materials and the ability to process them without reliance on foreign adversaries such as China.
To listen to my full comments, click here or on the video below.
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