Strategic and Critical Minerals

“Slow and burdensome processes should not obstruct responsible projects.”

Washington, D.C. – Today Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) praised the passage of H.R. 1937, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015. This bill requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to simplify the process for obtaining permits to extract minerals on federal lands.

Delays in the permitting of American mining projects wipe out high-paying jobs in rural communities. Communities in Northeastern Washington depend on these jobs.

Rep. McMorris Rodgers released the following statement:

“Minerals are key to agriculture, health care, technology, national defense, and almost every facet of our modern world. The federal government’s broken regulatory system drives mining operations into other countries—eliminating good-paying jobs and relaxing standards of the minerals extracted. Families in Eastern Washington communities like Republic, Metaline Falls, and Northport are hurt when jobs are jeopardized by bureaucratic dysfunction.

“We should have systems in place that block bad projects and allow good projects to move forward. Slow and burdensome processes should not obstruct responsible projects that will put Americans back to work.”

H.R. 1937 reduces lengthy timelines and delays while protecting important environmental standards.