The House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday approved two mining bills largely along party lines and advanced a separate package of bills that included measures tied to fisheries and geothermal energy.
The panel voted 21-16 on an amended version of H.R. 1501, the “Protect Domestic Mining Act,” from Republican Reps. Jefferson Shreve of Indiana and Blake Moore of Utah. Rep. Adam Gray of California, a moderate, was the only Democrat to vote “yes.”
The bill would codify a 2021 rule that makes all mining projects eligible for expedited permitting under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, and blocks a Biden-era proposal that would have narrowed that treatment to only critical mineral projects.
The committee-passed legislation includes an amendment from Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) that adds minerals processing to the proposal.
