Wittman in 2021. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Rep. Rob Wittman is looking to use the Defense Production Act to fund mineral supply chains and small modular reactors via the GOP reconciliation bill.
Why it matters: President Trump's national energy emergency order opens the possibility of agencies using the DPA to bolster energy-related projects. Republicans could look to put money behind that.
- Wittman's at the crossroads of this issue, serving as vice chair of both Natural Resources and Armed Services.
Driving the news: Wittman floated the idea of sending DPA money through the Defense Department to buy small modular reactors.
- "That's going to open the aperture for them to be used in the civilian realm" and help the nascent industry commercialize, he told Axios in the Speaker's Lobby late last week.
- With certain minerals and rare earths, Wittman added, "You could also use the National Defense Production Act because of their necessity in critical national defense operations."
- He said it's an active conversation among Republicans: "There's some crossover between Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce and HASC.… That will be one of the discussions that we have is, how do we potentially put that in [a reconciliation bill]?"
Yes, but: Republicans may be loath to pile new spending into reconciliation, given that they're already in a desperate search for ways to offset the budget impact of extending the Trump tax cuts.
- The House GOP has been huddling in Miami this week to hash out initial steps.
Context: There's precedent here. Democrats appropriated $500 million for the DPA in the IRA, on top of other tranches of DPA cash that Congress doled out in COVID-19 relief and Ukraine aid bills.
- The Biden administration allocated much of that IRA money for clean energy and grid technologies and for mineral supply chains, according to a tracker put together by EDF and Columbia University's Sabin Center.
- Some notable awards under Biden went to Albemarle's lithium mine in North Carolina and to Talon Metals' efforts to produce nickel — both the kinds of projects Republicans support.
- Beyond funding, the Trump administration could also use the DPA to expedite permitting for mining and processing projects.
What's next: Wittman said he's looking in the coming weeks to reintroduce the slate of minerals bills he developed last year leading the House China committee's Critical Minerals Policy Working Group.
- That includes his proposal to create a "Resilient Resource Reserve" to support production and stabilize prices for domestic and allied minerals.
- With the China committee back again this year, he's also hoping to reform that bipartisan working group.
