Boswell Introduces Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Leonard Boswell introduced the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act to address the nation’s shortage of metals and materials that are essential components to many high-tech industries, including defense, manufacturing, energy, transportation, optics and electronics, and to reduce the country’s dependence on China for these rare earths.
“This legislation is imperative to protecting our country’s economic and national security in the future,” Boswell said. “China is building a strategic stockpile of these materials and right now we depend solely on them to build products such as weapons guidance systems, advanced vehicle batteries, wind turbine motors, jet engines, televisions, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and optical cables. Our country has the capability to be independent in our rare earths supply, as we have been before, and this legislation gets us on that road.”
The Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act directs the Department of Energy to establish a program of research and development aimed at advancing technology affecting rare earths throughout their life cycle, from mining to manufacturing to recycling. It includes the broadening of an existing program of loan guarantees to facilitate development of these new technologies by private industry. The bill also authorizes research to find substitutions for rare earth materials and to find ways to use less of them.
Several industries, associations, and high-profile companies have supported similar legislation and the U.S.’s involvement in becoming self-sufficient in its rare earth supply. These supporters have included the National Association of Manufacturers, National Mining Association, Solar Energy Industries Association, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Electric, among others.
“I expect that many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle will support this legislation which was first introduced by Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper of Pennsylvania and passed in the 111th Congress by 325-98 vote,” Boswell said. “I encourage the House Science and Technology Committee and Speaker Boehner to put forth this legislation in a bipartisan effort to strengthen many U.S. industries.”
