Dems to GOP: Investigate mining companies, not greens

Lawmakers also introduced critical minerals legislation in recent days.

May 21, 2024

House Democrats are trying to flip the script on the GOP's investigations into whether environmental groups are illegally representing foreign interests.

Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Reps. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico and Jared Huffman of California on Monday called on Chair Bruce Westerman of Arkansas to expand an ongoing investigation to include mining companies with foreign ties that may be sidestepping congressional oversight.

The Republican-led bicameral inquiry has so far focused on ties between national environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters and China.

“Mining companies with foreign funding, significant amounts of foreign shareholders, and/or foreign parent companies are lobbying to undermine U.S. law and policy that protects our environment, economy, and national security,” the Democrats told Westerman in a letter.

The trio of Democrats said foreign mining companies appear to be exploiting “loopholes” under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, to shape U.S. policy while evading “serious scrutiny of their work on behalf of foreign principals.”

Huffman is ranking member of the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee. Stansbury is ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations panel.

The letter arrives as a growing number of lawmakers — largely Republicans — push to expand the government’s list of "critical minerals" to include materials and minerals like copper and phosphate, a move that would ultimately boost mining projects in their states.

FARA, a 1938 law, requires lobbyists and other advocates to notify the Justice Department if they’re working to influence policy on behalf of foreign entities or governments.

Foreign agents must provide details about their operations, such as contracts, the amount of money they make and the content of their advocacy. Violators can face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Democrats in the letter said companies can qualify for exemptions under FARA by simply registering under the Lobbying Disclosure Act or if their “activities are directly in furtherance of the bona fide commercial, industrial, or financial operations of the foreign corporation."

Both exemptions, they said, "allow foreign principals to influence U.S. policy and law while avoiding the full disclosure requirements facilitated by FARA."

Democratic lawmakers pointed to companies like Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining company Antofagasta, which is pursuing a copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum mine in northeast Minnesota near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Last year, the Biden administration blocked the project by withdrawing more than 225,000 acres in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest from mining and geothermal leasing for 20 years.

Grijalva, Stansbury and Huffman noted that Twin Metals has hired lobbyists who list “vague descriptions like ‘mine leasing issues’ and ‘mining issues’ when disclosing the subject matter of their lobbying on behalf of Twin Metals." It declined to comment when asked about the letter.

Other companies, they said, lobby through trade groups like the National Mining Association, which has more than 300 members, 19 of which have foreign funding.

Ashley Burke, a spokesperson for NMA, criticized Grijalva in an email for making the U.S. more reliant on other countries for minerals.

"The very foundation of our work is to advocate for strong U.S. supply chains using mined-in-America materials that create high-paying domestic jobs in support of our economy,” said Burke. “To suggest otherwise simply isn’t credible.

When asked about the letter, Natural Resources Republican spokesperson Rebekah Hoshiko said the minority should send letters to Westerman before issuing press releases.

"Otherwise it’s obvious they’re more interested in attention than meaningful policy discussions," said Hoshiko.

Mineral bills

Lawmakers last week floated two bills that would add materials like copper and phosphate to the federal government’s list of "critical" minerals — a label that could open projects up to additional federal tax credits and faster permitting.

One bipartisan measure would add potash and phosphate — minerals used widely in fertilizer — to the U.S. Geological Survey’s list.

Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida and Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan floated H.R. 8450, the ‘‘Phosphate and Potash Protection Act of 2024,” which would direct the secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to evaluate potash, phosphates and other minerals necessary for making fertilizer and agricultural products as critical under federal law.

Cammack and Slotkin released a similar bill last year. Potash was not on USGS’s most recent list of critical minerals, which was released in 2022.

The Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical mineral as a nonfuel mineral or mineral material essential to economic or national security and which has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption.

A separate Republican bill aims to broaden the USGS list to include materials — the most prominent being copper — that the Department of Energy has deemed as critical to the nation’s energy transition.

Republican Reps. Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane of Arizona and Dan Newhouse of Washington introduced H.R. 8446, “the Critical Mineral Consistency Act,” which would expand the USGS list of critical minerals under the Energy Act of 2020 to include copper, as well as electrical steel, silicon and silicon carbide.

“With both critical minerals and critical materials playing such a key role in everything from energy to national security, we need to ensure our federal agencies are operating with the same understanding of what we need to prioritize.” Ciscomani said in a statement.

"This legislation ensures parity between critical minerals versus critical materials while bolstering America’s supply chain for strategic resources for a more resilient future."

Republicans have long fought to widen the USGS list to include copper in hopes of accelerating projects in their state. Despite bipartisan pressure, USGS has repeatedly said it’s not warranted at this time.


By:  Hannah Northey
Source: E&E Daily