[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




URGING MEMBERS TO JOIN THE CONGRESSIONAL MINING CAUCUS, PRESERVE JOBS, 
                 AND BRIDGE THE KNOWEDGE GAP ON MINING

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, whether it is just the pocket change in 
our purses or pockets, or our Nation's highways and bridges, or our 
personal computers, minerals are paving our Nation's way into the 21st 
century. Without the minerals and materials supplied by the mining 
industry, Americans could not have that small change in their pocket, 
bridges, roads, or that personal computer.
  However, the mining industry yields more than just small change. In 
addition to acquiring metals for coinage, Uncle Sam reaps more than $57 
million in annual receipts from the mining industry. This does not 
include the $27 million in State and local government collections from 
mining industry revenues.
  Mining contributions to our Nation do not stop there. Mining in all 
forms pumps $524 billion into the American economy. That is equivalent, 
Madam Speaker, to $60 million an hour from mining.
  Mining matters. It matters to each Member, it matters to Congress, 
and it matters to every American. I ask my congressional colleagues to 
join the Mining Caucus.

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