Exclusive: Bipartisan plan aims to create U.S. reserve for critical minerals
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers will introduce new legislation Thursday to establish a $2.5 billion "Strategic Resilience Reserve" (SRR) for critical minerals, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: President Trump is bringing his prospector's pick to nearly every corner of the globe — including Ukraine, Venezuela and Greenland — in a push to boost the U.S. supply of minerals that are critical to the tech industry's growth.
- Now Congress wants to join the minerals rush by helping to secure — and stabilize — the domestic market for rare-earth and critical materials.
- Most of the world's supply is controlled by China, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to price swings and supply-chain disruptions for minerals needed to make advanced semiconductor chips and EV batteries.
- The goal is to create something akin to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was established in 1975 in response to the Arab oil embargo.
Driving the news: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) — along with Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) — will introduce the SECURE Minerals Act on Thursday morning.
- The legislation would create a clearinghouse for critical minerals, and resemble a hybrid between the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Federal Reserve.
- Like the Fed, the SRR would be overseen by a seven-member board, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
- Like the petroleum reserve — for which millions of barrels are stored in underground salt caverns — the SRR would establish storage facilities to warehouse supplies of key materials.
What they're saying: "Creating this reserve is a much-needed, aggressive step to protect our national and economic security," Young told Axios in a statement.
- "China's global dominance of critical minerals supply chains gives it significant leverage and leaves the U.S. vulnerable to economic coercion," Shaheen said in a statement.
- "This bipartisan legislation is a historic investment in making the U.S. economy more resilient and supporting good-paying jobs in key sectors like aerospace, autos and technology," she added.
Zoom in: The scramble for rare earths and other raw materials is playing out across the globe.
- It has fueled conflicts in Africa and helped to animate Trump's ambitions in Greenland.
In some ways, the SECURE Minerals Act is similar to the CHIPS and Science Act, the bipartisan law President Biden signed in 2022.
- The CHIPS law authorized roughly $280 billion for semiconductors and scientific research.
- Congress ultimately appropriated about $52 billion in semiconductor grants and loans. Trump has threatened to cancel some of them. In the case of Intel, the administration converted part of an $11 billion grant into a 10% equity stake for the government.
- The $2.5 billion in the new bill would be just an initial investment in a minerals reserve; Congress could appropriate more money for it if the bill becomes law.
The bottom line: The SRR wouldn't just be a mineral version of the petroleum reserve.
- The long-term strategy would be to establish a domestic market for critical minerals, bolster U.S. production capacity and ensure a stable and long-term supply for U.S. companies.
