House Small Business Committee hears calls for federal aid to rebuild U.S. rare-earth supply chain

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and industry witnesses at a House Committee on Small Business hearing on "Securing America's Mineral Future" pressed for federal action to rebuild U.S. capacity to mine, refine and recycle rare-earth and critical minerals used in batteries, magnets and defense systems.

The hearing on domestic critical minerals drew testimony from small-business founders and mining executives who said long permitting timelines, market volatility driven by foreign competitors and limited midstream processing capacity are blocking U.S. efforts to produce or recover the materials needed for clean energy and defense. Chairman Williams opened the hearing by saying the U.S. has “one active mine” for rare earths and that roughly 80% of critical minerals used in the country come from foreign sources.

The case for a multifaceted federal response was the central theme. Aaron Dowd, chief executive officer of Rare Earth Salts, testified that “the age of technology is indeed the age of critical minerals,” and warned that downstream processing remains concentrated overseas. Dowd and other witnesses said U.S. companies have developed alternative separation and recycling technologies but…