Right-Wing Conservative Group "Scoring" Derails Swalwell's Bipartisan Bill to Protect America

Press Release

A bipartisan bill sponsored by U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15), H.R. 1022, the Securing Energy Critical Elements and American Jobs Act of 2014, failed to pass the U.S. House of Representatives today because of "scoring" threats and falsehoods made by extreme right-wing groups, Heritage Action and Club for Growth. Swalwell's bill would have stepped up America's exploration of critical elements, materials used to power cell phones, airplanes, and renewable energy technology. Today, an overwhelming majority of these elements are imported from China, which has used export controls in the past to drive up the price of manufacturing.

"Under the threat of punishment from Heritage Action and Club for Growth, a majority of House Republicans voted against America's manufacturing and national security interests," said Swalwell. "Thanks to their obstruction, American job-creators and the Department of Defense will continue to be at the mercy of China to acquire these critical elements that help power our homes and protect our troops. Rather than support research and development that will help create jobs here at home, 142 House Republicans just voted to send good-paying American jobs overseas."

The United States relies on other countries for more than 90 percent of many energy critical elements (ECEs), and China is the world's largest producer of rare earth elements -- an important subset of ECEs.

Swalwell's bill would have authorized in law and strengthened the Department of Energy's (DOE) Critical Materials Energy Innovation Hub, which was established last year and is making important advances in understanding how to extract, recycle, and produce substitutes for energy critical elements. The Hub is a collaboration among national laboratories, universities, research institutes, and private companies. The bill did not authorize any new spending and reflected a compromise between Republicans and Democrats on the Science Committee.

Swalwell serves as the top Democrat on the Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and has two Department of Energy national laboratories in his district, Sandia and Lawrence Livermore. Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chairman of the Science Committee, supported the bill, as did Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy.

"This bill was the product of a year's worth of cooperation between me and Republican Leadership, from the support of the Science Committee Chair to the Majority Leader. Unfortunately, this hard work was derailed by puppeteering from right-wing groups."

Considered under suspension of the rules, this bill required a two-thirds majority to pass. It failed 260-143.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer included Swalwell's bill in his Make it in America jobs plan.

"I thank Rep. Swalwell for his leadership in promoting a strong manufacturing sector in America, and I am disappointed that Republicans voted to block his legislation to do so from passing. His bill, part of the Make It In America plan, is critical to securing critical minerals used to manufacture energy efficient products, renewable energy systems, electronics, and other technologies, which supports the kind of jobs that open doors of opportunity and build a strong middle class. I know he will continue working tirelessly to advocate for policies that create jobs and benefit workers in California and across the country," said Whip Hoyer.

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