[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 178 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6267-H6268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL MINERALS IN HEALTHCARE ACT OF
2023
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6395) to amend the Energy Act of 2020 to require the
Secretary of the Interior to include the Secretary of Health and Human
Services in consultations regarding designations of critical minerals,
elements, substances, and materials.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6395
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Recognizing the Importance
of Critical Minerals in Healthcare Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRED CONSULTATION WITH THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES.
Paragraphs (4)(C) and (5)(A) of section 7002(c) of the
Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(4)(C) and (5)(A)) are
each amended by inserting ``Health and Human Services,''
after ``Agriculture,''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs.
Dingell) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 6395, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill brings together two agencies that don't
usually interact, the United States Geological Survey, USGS, and the
Department of Health and Human Services, HHS.
H.R. 6395, the Recognizing the Importance of Critical Minerals in
Healthcare Act of 2023, would add HHS as a consulting agency for the
development of USGS' critical minerals list.
USGS publishes and updates this list every 3 years and, as directed
by the Energy Act of 2020, consults with the Secretaries of Defense,
Commerce, Agriculture, and Energy and the United States Trade
Representative in crafting each iteration.
Why is it important to include HHS as a consulting agency? The
critical minerals list constitutes a collection of minerals deemed
necessary for economic and national security and whose supply chains
are vulnerable to disruption.
There are many mineral applications in the healthcare industry. For
example, radioisotopes derived from low-enriched uranium are used in
over 40,000 imaging procedures in the U.S. daily, enabling diagnoses of
cancer and heart disease, and liquid helium is frequently used as a
coolant in MRI machines.
By requiring DOI to consult with HHS, H.R. 6395 would ensure that
medical uses of these minerals and the ramifications that any supply
disruption could have on the healthcare economy are adequately
considered when evaluating critical minerals list designations.
Again, I thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis) for his hard work
in bringing this bill to the floor today, and I thank my friends on the
other side of the aisle for recognizing the importance of passing this
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6395, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of the Recognizing the Importance of Critical
Minerals in Healthcare Act sponsored by my friend and colleague,
Representative Curtis, who I, too, am going to miss when he goes to the
other side, but I still plan on working very closely together with him.
This bill would require the United States Geological Survey to
consult with the Department of Health and Human Services on the
critical minerals list.
The critical minerals list, as folks know, can be quite
controversial, but this bill takes a true good-governance approach by
increasing intergovernmental coordination.
It is straightforward. The critical minerals list identifies the
mineral commodities that are critical to our Nation's economic and
national security. Healthcare is, of course, vitally important to our
economic and national security.
This bill recognizes the importance of the minerals used by the
healthcare sector. Certain platinum metals are used in chemotherapy and
cardiac technology. Zinc is used to carry portable oxygen and in
defibrillators. Lithium is used in pacemakers and other portable
electronics. There are countless examples of lifesaving medicines and
medical devices that use critical minerals.
USGS already consults with the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce,
Agriculture, and Energy and the U.S. Trade Representative on the
critical minerals list and informally consults with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services.
Formally consulting with HHS is an appropriate way to ensure minerals
used in medical technologies are appropriately evaluated for
criticality.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Curtis), the lead sponsor of this bill.
Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I first would like to return the
appreciation to the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and for
the opportunity to work with him. I think he is a great example of what
a chairperson should do in Congress. To my good friend from Michigan, I
thank her. I am not going that far away, and I look forward to
continuing to work with her. She is a wonderful example to me of
passion and love for what she does, and the people of Michigan are
fortunate to have her represent them.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Recognizing the
Importance of Critical Minerals in Healthcare Act. I also thank
Congresswoman DeGette for her partnership in advancing this important
initiative.
This legislation addresses a critical gap in the process for
identifying minerals essential to our Nation.
Under current law, the U.S. Geological Survey collaborates with
various government agencies to assess and designate critical minerals
vital to our national security. However, one key agency is glaringly
absent from this process: the Department of Health and Human Services,
HHS.
HHS plays a central role in our healthcare system, yet it has been
excluded from decisions about minerals critical to the medical
technologies and treatments that Americans rely on every day.
For example, helium is necessary for medical imaging. MRIs require
nearly 2,000 liters of helium to maintain the magnets that make them
functional.
Despite the growing helium shortage, this essential resource was
recently removed from the critical minerals list, a decision that
underscores the need for better interagency coordination.
By ensuring the healthcare implications of critical minerals
decisions are fully considered, this legislation will help safeguard
public health and our medical infrastructure.
Whether it is helium or other minerals essential to producing
lifesaving medical devices, we must ensure that our decisionmaking
process reflects the needs of the healthcare system.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their bipartisan support in
recognizing the importance of this issue.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H6268]]
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Without the necessary tools, healthcare professionals cannot
administer lifesaving care to their patients. While it may not be
immediately obvious, these tools include minerals and materials.
From the copper, gold, lithium, titanium, silver, and platinum used
in antimicrobial touch surfaces, heart stents, pacemakers, surgical
tools, antibiotics, and chemotherapy to the uranium byproducts and
liquid helium used in cancer treatments and MRI scans that I mentioned
earlier, our healthcare system is only as reliable as our supply
chains.
The Energy Act of 2020 was crafted explicitly so USGS would consult
with multiple agencies, each providing expertise within their
prospective jurisdictions.
Adding HHS as one of these agencies, as H.R. 6395 aims to do, would
ensure the mineral needs of the healthcare sector are fully considered
as USGS crafts the critical minerals list going forward.
Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6395.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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