NAM Regulatory Update: House Passes Critical Minerals Bill

As part of an effort to bring more information about the regulatory and legal environment facing American manufacturers, NFPA is monitoring the newsfeed of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and will be bringing important updates like this to the attention of NFPA members.

(November 15, 2024) The House easily passed an NAM-backed bill intended to increase U.S. access to critical minerals. 

What’s going on: The Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2024, passed with the support of both parties on Thursday, would reconcile the Energy Department’s list of critical materials with the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of critical minerals.

Under the Energy Act of 2020, the Interior Department was charged with identifying and keeping a list of critical minerals, and the Energy Department was required to do the same for “critical materials.” Differences between the lists are “causing confusion among producers because eligibility for certain grant programs, tax credits, loan guarantees or improved permitting processes are only granted to items on the DOI list,” NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram told House members ahead of the vote.

The House on Thursday also passed the Harnessing Energy at Thermal Sources Act, which would ease permitting for geothermal energy exploration and production on private land.

Why it’s important: The Critical Mineral Consistency Act would add copper, electrical steel, silicon and silicon carbide—all vital for various energy, technology and national security applications—to the unified critical minerals list.  

It’s a priority move for the U.S. because “American manufacturing is too often reliant on foreign sources of raw and refined inputs of these materials when we can and must be doing more to produce them domestically,” Netram said.