A bill that would add those materials listed as critical by the U.S. Department of Energy to the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of critical minerals was re-introduced to the U.S. Congress by Congressman Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06).
The Critical Minerals Consistency Act is an effort to strengthen the domestic supply of critical minerals by ensuring parity between the critical materials as defined by the DOE, and critical minerals, as defined by the USGS.
Currently, DOE’s Critical Material list has the disadvantage of not being eligible for the more extensive energy-focused benefits conferred to the USGS Critical Mineral list. Ciscomani is joined in the reintroduction of the Critical Mineral Consistency Act (H.R. 755) by Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) in this bipartisan effort.?
In a press release, Ciscomani’s office said the bill would eliminate confusion between the two definitions and confer the same benefits to both Critical Materials and Critical Minerals, allowing the U.S. to strengthen its domestic supply of critical minerals.?
“Arizona leads the way in the production of Critical Minerals, which are key to our economy, national security, and clean energy technologies,” said Ciscomani. “As demand for these resources continues to grow, it is essential that our federal agencies are operating with the same understanding and definitions. My legislation will ensure parity between U.S. Geological Survey Critical Minerals and Department of Energy materials lists to include copper, electrical steel, fluorine, silicon, and silicon carbide on the Critical Minerals list, a long overdue classification. This will strengthen our domestic supply and secure these resources for a more resilient future.”
?“Accessing critical minerals and materials is essential for our national security and energy grid. Government red tape should not be a barrier to development and innovation,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “There should not be different definitions on what a critical resource is depending on what department creates the list. This commonsense, bipartisan bill will provide the clarity that both industry and federal agencies need.”?
“We firmly believe all minerals are critical, and this commonsense legislation is an important step forward,” said Rich Nolan, NMA president and CEO. “The Critical Mineral Consistency Act is a win for American miners, for domestic supply chain security and is essential to ensuring domestic production can increasingly meet soaring demand. We applaud the leadership of Rep. Ciscomani in making sure made-in-America can increasingly mean mined-in-America.”?
In the 118th Congress, Congressman Ciscomani introduced this legislation, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 245 – 155.? While the statutory definition of Critical Minerals and Critical Materials are similar, the DOE and USGS created very different methodologies when developing their lists.??The USGS finalized the Critical Mineral methodology and list in 2022, focused solely on the supply and relied on old data from 2015-2018.??On the other hand, when DOE announced the Critical Material list in 2023, it balanced essentiality and supply risk and looked at projections into the short and medium-term future, rather than looking in the past.??
Copper, electrical steel, fluorine, silicon and silicon carbide are all critical materials and not critical minerals.
