Wyden reintroduces bill to expand critical mineral supplies, fuel clean energy manufacturing
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., reintroduced legislation Thursday that he said would support the processing, manufacturing, and production of critical minerals that would reduce imports of critical minerals, ease reliance on foreign oil and gas and support domestic manufacturing.
“The historic clean energy package I authored in the Inflation Reduction Act has put our country on a supercharged path to secure clean energy independence and drastically cut carbon emissions. To expedite this clean energy revolution, I’ve reintroduced legislation that would help America become a competitive producer of critical minerals and a clean energy manufacturing powerhouse. My bill aims to help the United States wean itself off foreign oil, gas and critical mineral imports while also creating good-paying American jobs that are essential to building the next generation of batteries and other clean energy products,” Wyden said.
“Additionally, for the sake of our national security, economy and environment, Congress desperately needs to reform the Mining Law of 1872. America has the expertise, infrastructure and natural resources to lead the world in critical mineral development, but doing so will require a 21st Century approach to capitalize on the opportunity.”
Critical minerals play a key role in the manufacturing of technologies like solar and wind power, electric car batteries and smartphones. Expanding domestic manufacturing of these technologies is vital as the U.S. makes the transition to energy independence and a clean energy future. The United States imports the majority of its critical minerals used in domestic manufacturing from Russia and China, which are some of the world’s leading producers of critical minerals.
The American Energy Development and Growth Enhancement (EDGE) Act would create a $50 million grant program under the Department of the Interior to fund and support the expansion and modernization of domestic critical mineral production and processing.
Last year, the Senate passed Wyden’s historic clean energy tax package as part of the Inflation Reduction Act which reforms the energy tax code to incentivize clean energy production, emissions reductions and secure energy independence.
A one-pager of the bill is here.
The text of the bill is here.
