With over 200 hearings failing to pass any of the 415 proposed bills, it is now the responsibility of the incoming Congress to transform discussions about critical minerals into actionable policies.
The dependency of the nation on critical minerals and rare earth elements imported from China was examined during 245 committee meetings and referred to in 95 reports throughout the 118th Congress’s sessions in 2022 and 2023, as reported by Congress.Gov.
When Congress adjourned on December 20 after passing a continuing resolution to fund the government until March, it did so without passing any of the 415 proposed bills concerning critical minerals as standalone legislation over the past two years.
Although measures enhancing supply chains and processing capacities for national defense were included in omnibus spending packages, including the National Defense Authorization Act, only a limited number of critical mineral bills received committee vetting, and even fewer reached the floor for votes, often dying unheard in the other chamber.
Critical minerals represent just one of many issues that the 118th Congress left unresolved, as it now fades out before the 119th Congress convenes on January 3.
In total, 19,304 measures were introduced in 2023 and 2024 in both the Senate and House, with 399 enacted as of December 20, according to reviews from GovTrack.us bill tracker and Congress.gov’s Statutes At Large, which documents all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress.
The 19,304 introduced bills mark a record since the 95th Congress introduced over 22,000 in 1977-78, per GovTrack’s data.
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Meanwhile, the 399 enacted measures represent the lowest number to pass through both chambers since at least 1973-74, the earliest period covered by GovTrack.us and Congress.gov statistics; of these, 233 originated in the House, 157 in the Senate, and nine were joint resolutions.
The 2023-24 measures, enacting 83 public laws, account for less than one-third of the 1,234 bills passed in 2021-22 by the 117th Congress.
Critical minerals, categorized as rare earth elements, have been a frequent topic of hearings over the past few years. According to the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) November 2022 list, the U.S. currently has the capability to source only a few domestically.
These minerals and elements are vital for electronics and national defense. For instance, Australia and Chile produce nearly three-quarters of the world’s lithium, the Congo supplies three-quarters of cobalt, South Africa accounts for two-thirds of platinum, and Brazil produces 90 percent of niobium.
While raw critical minerals and ores are accessible globally, including in the U.S., the processing of these materials is predominantly controlled by companies based in China. According to a November 2023 report, China holds sway over the global processing of at least 30 such minerals.
The U.S. is completely reliant on imports for certain minerals, such as yttrium, which is used in alloys, radar microwave filters, and ethylene polymerization; rare earths utilized in smartphones and cameras; bismuth and tungsten for metallurgy; arsenic for semiconductors; barite for hydrocarbon production; antimony utilized in batteries; germanium and gallium used in semiconductor chips and fiber optics; and graphite for batteries and lubricants.
On December 2, the Biden administration expanded its export controls on semiconductors and manufacturing equipment to China, introducing restrictions on 24 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, three software programs, and high-bandwidth memory chips aimed at entities associated with Chinese semiconductor manufacturing and investments.
In retaliation, China declared on December 3 that it would tighten restrictions on exporting minerals essential for advanced semiconductors, effectively banning exports of gallium, germanium, and antimony to industries and companies linked to the U.S. The subsequent day, graphite was added to the restricted list.
A loader shifts soil containing rare earth minerals to be loaded at a port in Lianyungang, in China’s Jiangsu Province, on Sept. 5, 2010. STR/AFP via Getty Images
Stymied by Definition
In light of these trade conflicts, Congress took minimal action during its final days to address urgent economic and national defense priorities that had been under discussion for the past two years.
A batch of energy development-related bills was left unresolved, including proposals intended to simplify the permitting process, despite a bipartisan and industry-wide call for action.
Most notably stalled for over a year was HR 1, The Lower Energy Costs Act, a comprehensive proposal for a House GOP “drill baby drill” energy policy that was never considered in committee by the Democrat-led Senate.
Another significant proposal, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024—co-sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and praised by energy and mining associations as an essential step toward regulatory relief—died without a hearing in the House.
A significant portion of hearings aimed to align the Department of Energy (DOE) and USGS in defining critical minerals and to develop a comprehensive federal assessment of sources, supply chains, and end-uses for a cohesive strategy.
Among the bills aiming to define critical minerals, HB 8446, The Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2024, made the most progress.
Championed by six Republican sponsors, including Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), the bill seeks to revise The Energy Act of 2020 to necessitate an annual report from the Interior Secretary, comprehensively evaluating all global critical mineral and rare earth element resources and aligning mineral definitions and listings used by the DOE and USGS.
However, this bill faced partisan conflict as it included copper as a critical mineral, which Democrats criticized as a “gift to the copper industry and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” highlighting that Resolution Copper, owned by global mining company Rio Tinto, is proposing a copper mine in New Mexico.
“And guess who owns the largest stake in Rio Tinto?” queried Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). “The Chinese government.”
HB 8446 was among the bills the House Rules Committee advanced to the floor on November 12. The bill passed the House on November 14 with a vote of 245-155 but was never reviewed in the Senate, as the inclusion of copper derailed its chances.
A piece of ore containing rare earths is displayed during a tour of a rare earth mineral mine in California on June 29, 2015. David Becker/Reuters
November Bred, December Dead
On November 19, the House Natural Resources Committee’s Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee advanced three critical minerals-related bills that ultimately never reached the floor for consideration, one being HR 7807, The Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act, sponsored by Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.).
This legislation proposed the formation of an intergovernmental critical minerals task force to evaluate the dependence on the People’s Republic of China for critical minerals.
Other similar efforts intended to lay groundwork for government management of critical minerals also went unheard.
These include SB 3631, The Critical Minerals Security Act of 2024, which would mandate reports on global critical mineral and rare earth element resources and outline strategies for developing advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies.
Led by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), this bill passed the Senate on November 19 but never had a hearing in the House.
Also moved forward on the same day was SB 3631’s companion bill, HB 7662, alongside HR 10005, “The Expedited Appeals Review Act” (EARA), sponsored by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), which aimed to streamline the Department of Interior’s Board of Land Appeal process. In 2023, only 34 of 290 cases were resolved “on actual merits,” with just two decisions in favor of appellants.
Discussions over new bill proposals continued into December, as many pending measures approached their expiration without resolution.
On December 11, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party’s Critical Minerals Policy Working Group adopted three additional measures focused on countering China’s dominance in the critical mineral and rare earth supply chain.
Led by Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), the panel proposed the Earth Sciences and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2024. This would allocate $3 million to authorize the Interior Secretary to sign memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with foreign governments for collaboration on critical mineral supply chains.
The working group also supported amendments to the Export Reform Control Act of 2018, co-sponsored by Wittman and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), which would impose export controls on “black mass” from recycled lithium-ion batteries and “swarf,” a byproduct of the metal machining industry.
Additionally, they proposed the Critical Minerals Workforce Enhancement Act, co-sponsored by Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), which proposes to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, allowing individuals with critical minerals expertise to apply for a national interest waiver as part of their EB-2 visa petition.
These December-introduced proposals did not progress further and were not enumerated.
If Congress wishes to revisit these bills, along with many others, they will need to be restructured, renumbered, and reintroduced.
However, there is a silver lining: following hundreds of hours of hearings and nearly 100 reports, most of these bipartisan measures should advance swiftly once the new Congress is seated.
