Stauber Pens Letter to Pelosi Expressing Concern Over Majority's Repeated Dismissal of His Efforts to End Child Slave Labor Abroad

Press Release

Today, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, outlining his concerns over the majority's dismissal of his multiple efforts to address child slave labor and human right's abuses abroad. Over the course of the past year, Stauber has offered five amendments to ensure new infrastructure projects are not built with minerals sourced from child labor. All of his efforts have been blocked by the majority.

In his letter to the Speaker, Congressman Stauber wrote (in part), "It is my goal to end these horrific practices and ensure that the minerals used in our phones, renewable energies, and infrastructure projects, are sourced ethically. Unfortunately, the reality remains that many of the technologies which Americans enjoy today are still powered by minerals sources and mined by child slaves."

Stauber continued, stating, "It remains unclear to me and many of my colleagues as to why preventing and combatting child slave labor is a controversial issue for the majority. Nevertheless, it is my hope that you will carefully review my future efforts to prevent these abuses and make the correct decision to hold the United States to the moral standards our constituents, and the rest of the world, expect."

Last Congress, during a Transportation and Infrastructure markup on H.R. 2, Stauber's amendment to prevent child labor was passed with a bipartisan vote. Despite this overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, his committee-adopted amendment was stripped from the bill by Democrat leadership before coming to the Floor for full consideration.

International reports indicate that approximately 40,000 boys and girls work as forced slave laborers, many sourcing cobalt in the Congo. At present, the U.S. currently imports 78 percent of its cobalt from the Congo. Meanwhile, the Duluth Complex located in Stauber's district, contains 88 percent of America's cobalt reserves.

Last week, Stauber penned a letter to President Biden, requesting that he empower Minnesota's miners to responsibly source these minerals, thereby reducing dependence on nations with poor labor and environmental standards, like the Congo.

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