Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), the newly appointed Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment, introduced the Securing America’s Mineral Supply (SAMS) Act to codify executive orders issued by President Donald Trump aimed at revitalizing U.S. critical mineral production and ending reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for essential resources.
After Biden administration policies weakened American energy and increased reliance on China, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) put forward the SAMS Act to bolster national security by restoring domestic control over critical mineral production and formalizing key executive orders from President Trump.
“For four years, the Biden-Harris administration waged war on American energy and did nothing to make the U.S. less dependent on adversarial nations like China for critical minerals. This has become a serious threat to our national security,” Palmer told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement. “Upon taking office, President Trump took immediate action to correct the previous administration’s mistakes, and we must codify these actions to prevent future administrations from overturning the Executive Orders.”
The SAMS Act makes permanent five of President Trump’s executive orders that prioritized domestic mineral production and processing. These include:
- E.O. 13817 – A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals
- E.O. 13953 – Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Adversaries
- E.O. 14154 – Unleashing American Energy
- E.O. 14241 – Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production
- E.O. 14272 – Ensuring National Security and Economic Resilience Through Section 232 Actions on Processed Critical Minerals
Critical minerals and rare earth elements are essential to everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to weapons systems and the national power grid. Yet the United States, once the world leader in critical mineral refining, now relies almost entirely on foreign adversaries, most notably China, which controls eight of the nine global rare earth refineries.
There is currently not a single major rare earth element refinery in the entire Western Hemisphere. This lack of domestic capacity has raised growing concerns about U.S. industrial security and long-term resilience as the United States remains dependent on China’s dominant position in global refining.
Palmer, who was recently named Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, now oversees jurisdiction over critical mineral and rare earth element policy. He pledged to use the role to protect American security and economic independence.
The bill has garnered support from 40 cosponsors, including broad Republican backing and one Democrat. Among them are Reps. Barry Moore, Tim Burchett, August Pfluger, Don Bacon, Keith Self, John Rose, Rob Wittman, Michael Rulli, Warren Davidson, Brad Finstad, Claudia Tenney, John James, Daniel Webster, Pat Harrigan, Ken Calvert, Troy Balderson, Craig Goldman, Brian Jack, Jeff Hurd, Cliff Bentz, Tim Moore, Buddy Carter, Eli Crane, Marlin Stutzman, Mark Harris, Joe Wilson, Mark Green, Tracey Mann, Glenn “GT” Thompson, Brad Knott, Robert B. Aderholt, Mike Kelly, Robert E. Latta, Tom Barrett, Mike Haridopolos, Henry Cuellar, Doug LaMalfa, Byron Donalds, Beth Van Duyne, and David Rouzer.
“Dependence on China for critical minerals is an undeniable threat to our national security,” Palmer said. “This bill is just one step toward ending that dependency.”
The post Exclusive: Rep. Gary Palmer Introduces SAMS Act to End U.S. Dependence on China for Critical Minerals appeared first on Breitbart.
