DeGette: Republicans Are Killing Investments in Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) delivered the following opening remarks as prepared today at an Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee hearing on "Examining Ways to Enhance Our Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains:"

Today’s hearing is just another example of Republicans’ mismatched priorities. We all agree that it is important to build domestic supply chains for critical minerals so that we can compete globally and so that we won’t need to rely on global supply chains controlled by our adversaries like China. But Republicans’ actions here in Committee last week directly threaten our efforts to do just that. With the GOP tax scam, Republicans are giving up on investing in domestic supply chains, manufacturing, and clean energy—all so they could give give giant tax breaks to billionaires who don’t need them. The Republican Tax Scam bill will kill jobs, hurt domestic businesses and manufacturers, and drive-up Americans’ energy bills. And now that bill could be on the floor as early as today.

Actions speak louder than words, and unlike our Republican counterparts, Democrats have made the investments necessary to build a strong domestic supply chain for critical mineral extraction and processing. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act invested hundreds of billions of dollars to reshore American manufacturing jobs and build momentum towards durable domestic supply chains. These investments are critical to ensure we are competitive players in booming clean energy industries and so we can once and for all end our reliance on China for critical minerals.

These investments also supported downstream manufacturers so that the critical minerals extracted and processed in the United States are used to fuel domestic manufacturing and create jobs for American workers. These laws provided the Department of Energy (DOE) with resources for programs that invest along the entire supply chain while expanding existing programs with a proven track record. DOE’s Loan Programs Office is a great example of how Democratic investments are a win-win for Americans: the Loan Programs Office was set up to invest federal tax dollars in cutting edge projects that reduce our reliance on imports and create jobs for American workers while generating billions of dollars of net profit for taxpayers.

And yet, not one Committee Republican supported either of those laws despite both making investments predominately in Republican districts.

And since taking office, President Trump has doubled down on Congressional Republicans’ efforts to undermine the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. The Trump Administration immediately began illegally canceling the distribution of funds appropriated by Congress and illegally terminating grants to steal money from American communities and projects that Congress clearly supported. Instead of standing up to Trump, Republicans in Congress have cheered him on. Just last week, every Republican on this Committee voted in favor of bills that would claw back billions of dollars of investments aimed at bolstering domestic supply chains and critical mineral processing. 

Committee Republicans are simply not willing to do what it takes to compete with China. With their recent actions, Republicans are waving the white flag and sitting on the sidelines. It’s a pathetic record from a group who spent years saying we need to create jobs and reduce our reliance on China. 

We were already starting to see Democratic investments pay off. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, were creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country in both Republican and Democratic districts. DOE programs created and expanded by these laws were financing first-of-their-kind mineral processing and advanced manufacturing projects across the country. Meanwhile, other programs such as DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains were investing in projects to reshore manufacturing jobs and provide skills training so American workers would be ready to take the jobs Democratic investments were creating in their communities.

But now all of that is being undone by a reckless and rudderless administration and a compliant Republican Congress. Republicans are clearly NOT serious about solving problems with supply chains. 

And with that I yield back the balance of my time. 

###