WASHINGTON — House lawmakers moved Wednesday to codify several of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at expanding domestic mining on federal lands.
The lower chamber voted 224 to 195 to pass the Critical Mineral Dominance Act, which tasks Interior Secretary Doug Burgum with identifying and expediting projects for important mining projects.
Of particular focus is the critical minerals that the US imports from overseas. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), further instructs Burgum’s team to ramp up the government’s detailed geologic mapping of the country.
“This legislation will help enable us to mine here domestically, create good-paying, union jobs, enhance our national security, and position the United States to lead and win in the 21st Century economy,” he said.
“For far too long, America’s reliance on imports has left us vulnerable, with China controlling roughly 60 percent of global critical mineral production, 90 percent of processing, and 75 percent of manufacturing,” Stauber added.
“The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly weaponized this dominance through export restrictions and trade leverage, creating uncertainty for key U.S. industries. Previous administrations exacerbated this issue by reversing project approvals and restricting development on millions of acres of public lands,” he added.
The bill also tasks Burgum with coordinating with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on identifying federal lands that could be leased out for mining purposes.
Additionally, his team will be tasked with finding opportunities to boost critical mineral production on existing federal land, including by expanding existing operations and helping to bolster dormant ones.
The legislation still needs to clear the Senate, but it comes amid a broader push within Congress to explore avenues of codifying Trump’s executive orders into law.
This week, Trump announced a new $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals that includes a mix of funding from the US Export-Import Bank and private capital.
Dubbed “Project Vault,” the initiative was intended to reduce America’s dependence on China and other countries for minerals that are important for manufacturing and national security.
Additionally, Project Vault is aimed at helping to minimize price shocks to key minerals and stabilize markets.
Part of its focus will include minerals like gallium and cobalt, which are in a wide array of products like iPhones, semiconductors, jet engines and more.
Trump’s team has also worked to beef up production of so-called rare earth minerals, which, despite their name, are usually fairly common.
Some 70% of US rare earth imports came from China between 2020 and 2023, per data from Statista.
