Upton Talks About Mineral Resources Bill

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Congressman Fred Upton is marking Earth Day by highlighting his Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act. It’s legislation that would require the Secretary of Energy to conduct regular assessments of the energy resource supply chains in the U.S. and any vulnerabilities in those chains. Upton tells WSJM News this is about ensuring the U.S. has what it needs.

“We want to make sure that supply chain is here in the United States,” Upton said. “We saw what happened with medicine and the need for PPE that we needed with this COVID crisis, and of course, we didn’t have a lot of it here. A lot of it came from overseas. We want to make sure that those supply chains are here in this country. It’s not only an energy issue, it’s also an issue that means national security.”

Upton’s bill would also require the Energy Secretary to diversify the sources of the supply of energy resources and increase domestic production and processing. He says the United States faces growing dependence on China and other countries for many of the 41 minerals that are needed for energy technologies like batteries, solar, and wind.