Ada Recinos at ada.recinos@sierraclub.org (Pacific Time)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources is holding a hearing on the bicameral and bipartisan Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act. The bill passed in the Senate with unanimous support and would help reduce dependence on adversarial nations for critical minerals needed for clean energy products. Significantly, the bill puts mining and processing on equal footing with reuse and recycling. Further, it stakes competitiveness on expanding human rights and environmental responsibility across supply chains. Specifically, the bill would commission a non-partisan report and create a task force between State, local, Tribal, territorial, and Federal governments to identify paths to reduce American reliance on foreign critical minerals and rare earth metals.
Harry Manin, Sierra Club’s Deputy Legislative Director for Industrial Policy and Trade released the following statement: “The Sierra Club applauds the bipartisan effort to make sure all stakeholders – environmental, Tribal, and labor – are at the table to onshore critical minerals supply chains. By respecting human rights, incorporating labor standards, and emphasizing environmental due diligence, the United States is poised to break free from bad actors profiting off slave labor and environmental degradation. Legislative efforts to transition to clean energy and decouple from climate and human-rights laggards must be bipartisan and hinge upon humanitarian and environmental progress.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.