Rep. Pat Fallon's MERICA Act Passes the House

Washington, D.C. -- The House of Representatives voted this evening to pass the Mineral Extraction for Renewable Industry and Critical Applications Act, the "MERICA Act," introduced byCongressman Pat Fallon (TX-04).

"Proud to see the House vote in favor of the passage of the MERICA Act this evening, a bill that I introduced in order to break our reliance on China for rare earth minerals and instead open up federal lands for their extraction here at home," commented Rep. Pat Fallon.

"H.R. 3872, better known as the MERICA Act, would amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (MLAAL) by adding hardrock minerals as part of the listed deposits subject to leasing under MLAAL so that all federally acquired lands can be considered for hardrock mineral leasing. As things currently stand, we have valuable lithium deposits locked up on federal lands, and we cannot access nor utilize them under current law. In fact, much of Texas' Fourth Congressional District falls within what is known as the Smackover Formation, a geological formation that encompasses areas from eastern Texas to the Florida panhandle. A recent U.S. Geological Survey-led study estimates there to exist 5 to 19 million tons of lithium reserves in this mineral-rich deposit."

"Strong, secure rare earth mineral supply chains and stockpiles are a US national security priority as we seek to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. There is no reason why we should not look to our own domestic reserves to make decoupling from the CCP a reality. The MERICA Act is an excellent opportunity to do so, and I urge the Senate to advance this key piece of legislation."