Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight Examines Rare Earths and Critical Materials Issues
(Washington, DC) -- The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittees on Investigations & Oversight held a hearing yesterday on The Federal Perspective on a National Critical Materials Strategy. They have strange names: neodymium, europium, cerium and terbium. They compose a group of seventeen chemical elements known as rare earths that have unusual physical properties and are essential in lasers, magnets and batteries. Without them your cell phone, iPod or MP3 player would not function. Your disk drive and flat-panel TV would not be possible. They are critical components of military aircraft, lasers and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. They are particularly critical for emerging renewable energy technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels and hybrid vehicles.
However, there is a severe shortage of both rare earth elements and other critical materials. They are found in ore deposits throughout the world, including the United States. China currently produces between 90% and 95% of the world’s rare earths supplies and has been restricting their exports of the materials. Although China currently holds a near-monopoly on production of rare earths elements, geographically China only accounts for an estimated 50% of the world’s total reserve of these materials and at least one American company is hoping to mine rare earths minerals in California to compete with the Chinese in the future.
“This Committee has a thirty year-long history of trying to establish an ongoing institutionalized focus on potential shortages of such materials,” said Ms. Donna F. Edwards, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight, “but at different times Republican and Democratic administrations have let this matter slip off the table.” Ms. Edwards said she was pleased to see that that Obama Administration appears to have grasped the challenge of trying to develop a coherent set of policies to address these issues. However, she said, “I think we need to recognize that the government should have an on-going capacity to work to identify potential shortages and adopt policies designed to avoid or diminishthe disruptions that come with shortages.”
Ms. Edwards also warned of the inherent environmental dangers evident in mining for rare earths. “Rare earth mining and processing has proven to be a very dirty business in the past, with pollution—including radioactive wastes—a trademark of this industry,” said Ranking Member Edwards. “I expect that our work to develop a domestic industry will not ignore the real dangers inherent in rare earth mining,” she said.
Last year, under the leadership of then-Chairman Brad Miller, the I&O Subcommittee held a hearing on Rare Earth Minerals and 21st Century Industry that helped to bring focus to these issues. The hearing charter and witness statements of last year’s hearing are available here: https://democrats-science.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-investigations-and-oversight-hearing-rare-earth-minerals. That hearing resulted in proposed legislation by then-Vice Chair, Kathy Dahlkamper, to help address the shortage of rare earth elements. That legislation was re-introduced by Mr. Miller earlier this year. (H.R. 952, known as the “Energy Critical Elements Renewal Act of 2011 is available here: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr952ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr952ih.pdf) It would both amend the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 and create an energy critical elements program to help address these issues.
“Congress recognized the importance of critical materials in the 1980’s when it passed the National Materials Minerals Policy, R&D Act,” said Mr. Miller. “However executive branch efforts, until recently, have been non-existent since 1993.” Mr. Miller’s bill would establish an institutional framework to help address critical material supply shortages, exploit U.S. rare earth reserves and reinvigorate U.S. rare earths expertise. “Ensuring a reliable and stable supply of energy critical elements is vital to U.S. national security and economic interests,” he said.
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