Rep. Rob Wittman, head of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Critical Minerals Working Group, said that the U.S. faces challenges in its critical mineral production capabilities, such as workforce shortages. Wittman shared his statement during a roundtable on September 11.
"As the United States strives to secure its supply chains for minerals like lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements—materials vital to the alternative energy sources, industrial automation, and advanced defense systems—we face a major hurdle: a shortage of skilled workers trained in critical minerals extraction, processing, and recycling," said Wittman. "Unlike other industrial sectors, the critical minerals industry in the U.S. is still in its nascent stages, leaving us with a limited pool of qualified professionals. This shortage is further exacerbated by the lengthy permitting processes that delay project timelines, making it difficult to not only train but also retain a skilled workforce when projects face prolonged delays."
The Mining Schools Act of 2023 (H.R. 2685) is a bill that would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to "establish a grant program to support domestic mining education," awarding up to 10 grants every year to "mining schools for recruiting and educating mining engineers and other qualified professionals and mineral needs," according to Congress.gov. The bill would also repeal the Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute Act of 1984. The legislation was first introduced by Representative Burgess Owens (R-UT) in April 2023, and it has not passed either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
According to a press release, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barasso (R-WY), Chairman and Ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 in July. The purpose of the bill is to "strengthen American energy security by accelerating the permitting process for critical energy and mineral projects of all types in the United States." Manchin said the bill "will speed up permitting and provide more certainty for all types of energy and mineral projects without bypassing important protections for our environment and impacted communities." Barasso said, "We fix the disastrous Rosemont decision so that we can produce more American minerals instead of relying on China."
According to the Department of Energy, critical minerals are "substances that the U.S. government identifies as essential to energy technologies, economic and national security, and the manufacture of key products." Many technologies need these critical minerals, which are highly sought out due to their rare supply.
According to the Observer Research Foundation, China dominates global production of many critical minerals. As of 2022, "China control[ed] 58 percent of the global production of lithium compounds...69 percent of nickel sulfate, 69 percent of synthetic graphite, 75 percent of cobalt, 95 percent of manganese and 100 percent of spherical graphite."
Wittman has represented Virginia’s First Congressional District since 2007, according to his website. He is currently on the House Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee, where he serves as vice chairman of the full committee and chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee.
