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House Small Business Committee hears calls for federal aid to rebuild U.S. rare-earth supply chain
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Summary
Witnesses and members at a House Small Business Committee hearing urged Congress to speed permitting, guarantee markets and expand funding for small firms to produce and recycle rare-earth and other critical minerals, citing national-security risks from dependence on China and environmental concerns with some mining approaches.
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 need government financing and market certainty to scale.
“China controls 90% of the global downstream rare earth market,” Dowd said, framing why U.S. policy must support domestic refining and separation. Harvey Kaye, executive director of US Critical Materials, described an 11-square-mile claim in Sheep Creek, Montana, with grades he said average about 9% and called for faster permitting and “offtake” commitments so producers can attract investment.
Ken Mashinsky, president and CEO of Rare Element Resources, recounted years and tens of millions of dollars spent on resource development and said coordinated foreign market actions can and have “flooded the market” and driven U.S. projects into insolvency. Mashinsky urged market-stability measures including strategic stockpiles and government purchasing to give nascent U.S. producers a foothold. He noted RER has received partial Department of Energy funding and has invested roughly $170 million in its deposit and technology and about $66 million in a demonstration separation plant.
Dr. Laura Stoy, founder and CEO of Revelia Chemical Co., described a patent-pending chemical process to recover rare earths from industrial wastes such as coal ash, phosphogypsum and mine tailings. She told lawmakers she sees recycling and waste recovery as a faster, lower-impact path to add supply and said current U.S. recycling of rare earths is “very limited” and not operating at scale. Dr. Stoy cited several research estimates during her remarks, including a UT Austin estimate she referenced that there may be about 11 million metric tons of rare earths locked in coal ash.
Members of the committee offered a range of views about tradeoffs. Ranking Member Miss Scolton of Michigan said the U.S. must expand recycling and “friend-shoring” as well as mining, and warned against repeating past permitting regimes without reform. Several Republican members stressed the economic and national-security benefits of domestic mining, particularly for districts with known deposits, and pushed for permitting reform, tax incentives and faster Defense Production Act support.
Witnesses and members proposed several policy levers: streamlining permitting (including use of the FAST-41 process), government purchases or stockpiles to stabilize demand, tax credits and targeted grants to reduce investment risk, increased Department of Energy and Department of Defense funding for pilots and demonstration plants, and expanded SBIR-type support for early-stage technology companies. Dowd and Mashinsky both cited recent Defense Production Act awards and Department of Defense funding as critical to scaling production of specific elements, including terbium.
Environmental and community concerns were also raised. Ranking Member Miss Scolton cautioned that new mines can threaten recreation economies, water resources and tribal agreements if not managed carefully. Dr. Stoy and other witnesses emphasized that some recovery approaches — notably recycling industrial waste — avoid new land disturbance and hazardous tailings and may offer a quicker, lower-impact supply route while midstream refining capacity is developed.
The hearing did not produce legislative action. Members and witnesses signaled continued work across committees and agencies to identify financing mechanisms, permitting reforms and procurement steps that could reduce reliance on foreign processing and strengthen small-business participation in the supply chain. Chairman Williams closed by asking witnesses to submit written plans and thanked members for the bipartisan engagement.
