Rep. Johnson pushes on months-late DoD rare earths report
Secretary Panetta: Report will be provided to Congress in two weeks; Johnson follows up with letter
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), co-chair of the U.S. House Rare Earth Caucus, today asked Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for an update regarding a months-late Department of Defense report assessing the U.S. military’s dependence on rare earth elements and risks associated with the rare earth element supply chain. Currently, China accounts for 97% of global rare earth element production.
During a Wednesday hearing of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee at which Secretary Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey testified, Johnson requested a specific timeframe for delivery of the report, which Section 843 of the Fiscal Year 2011 National Defense Authorization required be provided to Congress in June 2011.
Secretary Panetta responded that he expects the report to be delivered to Congress “within a couple of weeks.”
| LINK: Video of the exchange between Congressman Johnson and Secretary Panetta |
Johnson followed up Wednesday afternoon with a letter to Secretary Gates. The letter (link to .pdf) states, “I appreciate this good news and look forward to receiving the report according to that timetable.”
Co-chaired by Rep. Mike Coffman (CO-06), the U.S. House Rare Earth Caucus is comprised of Members of the U.S. House committed to securing U.S. supply of rare earth elements. Critical to clean energy and defense manufacturing, rare earth elements are strategic minerals used to produce technologies such as wind turbines, advanced batteries, powerful magnets, and military radar systems. Currently, China accounts for 97 percent of global rare earth element production and recently has restricted exports.
In 2011, Rep. Johnson introduced the Resource Assessment of Rare Earths (RARE) Act of 2011, cosponsored by Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Rep. Edward Markey (MA-07), which directs the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a three-year global mineral assessment of rare earth elements. One of 25 bills included in House Democrats’ “Make it in America” agenda, most of the RARE Act was included in the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011 (H.R. 2011), which passed the Republican-controlled House Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support in 2011.
The staff contact for rare earth policy in Congressman Johnson’s office is Jonathan Ossoff (jonathan.ossoff@mail.house.gov), Senior Legislative Assistant.
Current members of the Rare Earth Caucus include: Rep. Mike Coffman (CO-06), Rep. Robert E. Latta (OH-05), Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06), Rep. Paul A. Gosar (AZ-1), Rep. Devin Nunes (CA-21), Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01), Rep. Leonard Boswell (IA-03), Rep. Steve King (IA-05), Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA-2), Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis (WY-at large), Rep. Tom Latham (IW-04), and Rep. Don Young (AK-at large).
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