Sen. John Hickenlooper is looking at doing more bipartisan legislating to boost mining and strengthen U.S. battery supply chains.
Why it matters: The senator's trying to build consensus for ideas to substantively move the needle, including a mining-specific government office.
Driving the news: Hickenlooper explained to Axios last week that he's "aggressively looking at" mining legislation and reaching out to senators on both sides of the aisle.
- He said he's already reached out to Sens. Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy and Catherine Cortez Masto. His goal is to have some bills ready by the end of next year.
- "Right now we're exploring. We're having lots of discussions with the U.S. Geological Survey, lots of mining companies," he said during a winding talk through the Senate subway tunnels.
Zoom in: Hickenlooper appeared aghast that there is no longer a federal entity overseeing hard rock mineral development in the U.S., after the Bureau of Mines was dismantled under the Clinton administration.
- "You know there's no department of mining?" he asked. "We've just basically decided mines are things we don't like."
- An aide in Hickenlooper's office confirmed that a federal mining agency is "one idea" the senator is considering.
- The aide, who described the senator's push as being in its "very initial" stages, said the senator's also mulling policies surrounding trade and investment in allied nations.
