House Republicans Continue To Prioritize Independence From China

Statement

This week, Leader McCarthy and House Republicans introduced the China Task Force Act, an urgently needed piece of legislation to help block the attempted takeover of multiple economic sectors and other harmful practices by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of these at-risk sectors is the global supply of critical minerals, vital materials used in applications including national defense, communications technologies, renewable energy, infrastructure, and healthcare. China has been steadily tightening its stranglehold on the critical minerals supply chain for decades, and is now the leading supplier of many of these valuable resources, including rare earth elements.

The legislation includes 137 bills and other provisions that were recommended by the China Task Force. Proposals in the package within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Natural Resources related to critical minerals include:
H.R. 7061, the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act, introduced earlier this Congress by Congressman Gosar and Congressman Waltz. H.R. 7061 would support the domestic production of critical minerals by streamlining the permitting process for mineral exploration, increasing our scientific knowledge base through increased mapping, and supporting the research and development of mineral recycling, reuse, and processing technologies.
H.R. 8198, the National Security Through America's Resources and Permitting Reform Act of 2020, introduced by Congressman Barr, would enable expedited permitting for projects extracting critical minerals from coal refuse.

According to the China Task Force Report, "The CCP is preying on the international community's prioritization of climate change, posturing itself as an essential partner to collect undue credit and discourage nations from responding to malign CCP behavior. The CCP claims a self-interested, hollow, and revisionist definition of environmental leadership, in which the CCP gains geopolitical clout for empty gestures while wreaking global environmental havoc for its own advantage." In response, the report recommended for Congress to pass, among other proposals, H.R. 5859, the Trillion Trees Act.

H.R. 5859, introduced by Congressman Westerman, would establish a commitment to a global effort to plant one trillion trees by investing in national and international reforestation and authorizing reforms to improve forest management, utilize wood products, and increase global carbon sequestration.

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