Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Department of the Interior to identify and pursue opportunities to address mineral supply chain vulnerabilities.

Highlights:

• Requires the Department of the Interior to address mineral supply chain vulnerabilities, including by accelerating and expanding mineral production on federal land (i.e., National Forest System land, public lands, and any land that may be leased for the exploration, development, or production of hardrock minerals) (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Interior to report on the dollar value and overall economic impact of the United States' reliance on imports of certain mineral commodities (Sec. 3).

• Requires the Interior to (Sec. 4):

• Identify priority mining projects on federal lands that can be immediately approved; and

• Take all necessary and appropriate steps to expedite those projects.

• Requires the Interior to identify active, inactive, or proposed mining projects on federal land that have the potential to (Sec. 4):

• Increase production of hardrock minerals or their byproducts; 

• Expand existing operations to include such byproducts; or

• Produce hardrock minerals from mine tailings or coal byproducts.

• Requires the Interior to identify certain federal land with potential for hardrock mining and prioritize identifying land where a mining project can most quickly be fully permitted and operational, and would have the greatest potential effect on the robustness of the domestic mineral supply chain (Sec. 5).

• Requires the Interior to (Sec. 6):

• Suspend, revise, or rescind agency actions that place undue burdens on mining projects;

• Recommend changes to current law necessary to expand U.S. production of hardrock minerals; and

• Review state and local laws that impede development of domestic mining and mineral exploration projects.

• Requires the Interior to prioritize efforts to accelerate geologic mapping (Sec. 7).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text