Sec. 5001. Findings
646 words·~3 min read·
/bill/115/hr/5515/pcs/section-5001A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds that— in agreement with Executive Order No. 13806, a healthy manufacturing and defense industrial base and resilient supply chains are essential to the economic strength and national security of the United States. Modern supply chains, however are often long and the ability of the United States to manufacture or obtain goods critical to national security could be hampered by an inability to obtain various essential components, which themselves may not be directly related to national security; in agreement with Executive Order No. 13817, the United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation's security and economic prosperity; this dependency of the United States on foreign sources creates a strategic vulnerability for both its economy and military to adverse foreign government actons, natural disaster, and other events that can disrupt supply of these key minerals.
Increased private-sector domestic exploration, production, recycling, and reprocessing of critical minerals, and support for efforts to identify more commonly available technological alternatives to these minerals, will reduce our dependence on imports, preserve our leadership in technological innovation, support job creation, improve national security and balance of trade, and enhance the technological superiority and readiness of our Armed Forces, which are among the Nation's most significant consumers of critical minerals; the industrialization of developing nations has driven demand for nonfuel minerals necessary for telecommunications, military technologies, healthcare technologies, and conventional and renewable energy technologies; the availability of minerals and mineral materials are essential for economic growth, national security, technological innovation, and the manufacturing and agricultural supply chain; minerals and mineral materials are critical components of every transportation, water, telecommunications, and energy infrastructure project necessary to modernize the crumbling infrastructure of the United States; the exploration, production, processing, use, and recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic well-being, security, and general welfare of the United States; and the United States has vast mineral resources but is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign sources of mineral resources, as demonstrated by the fact that— 25 years ago, the United States was dependent on foreign sources for 45 nonfuel mineral materials, of which— 8 were imported by the United States to fulfill 100 percent of the requirements of the United States for those nonfuel mineral materials; and 19 were imported by the United States to fulfill greater than 50 percent of the requirements of the United States for those nonfuel mineral materials; by 2015 the import dependence of the United States for nonfuel mineral materials increased from dependence on the import of 45 nonfuel mineral materials to dependence on the import of 47 nonfuel mineral materials, of which— 19 were imported by the United States to fulfill 100 percent of the requirements of the United States for those nonfuel mineral materials; and 22 were imported by the United States to fulfill greater than 50 percent of the requirements of the United States for those nonfuel mineral materials; according to the Department of Energy, the United States imports greater than 50 percent of the 41 metals and minerals key to clean energy applications; the United States share of worldwide mineral exploration dollars was 7 percent in 2015, down from 19 percent in the early 1990s; the 2014 Ranking of Countries for Mining Investment, which ranks 25 major mining countries, found that 7- to 10-year permitting delays are the most significant risk to mining projects in the United States; and in late 2016, the Government Accountability Office found that— the Federal government’s approach to addressing critical materials supply issues has not been consistent with selected key practices for interagency collaboration, such as ensuring that agencies’ roles and responsibilities are clearly defined ; and the Federal critical materials approach faces other limitations, including data limitations and a focus on only a subset of critical materials, a limited focus on domestic production of critical materials, and limited engagement with industry .
Connectionstraces to 2
Traces to 2 documents
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources