America needs a plan to restore our leadership. We need the capability to mine and process the minerals here. Sadly, even the ores mined here by our domestic producer, MolyCorp Inc., are sent to China for processing. Once our American ore is processed in China, it becomes subject to the Chinese export restrictions. Obama has resisted developing a strategic plan, and the reason is likely his slavish devotion to radical environmentalist interests that dislike any company with the name of mining or refining in it. Ironically, the lack of a domestic supply of rare earth minerals is stunting the growth of the green energy firms these same environmental interests are always touting. Members of the Armed Forces House and Senate Committees are deeply concerned, and they have some ideas. U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri recently said, “By encouraging the domestic production and refinement of rare earth minerals, we can reduce our dependency on other countries and encourage economic development here in the U.S.” The bottom line is, we need a strategy, and the Obama Administration is failing to provide it. Congressional members must step in and take the lead. Until we have a strategy, we are hostage to the Chinese, and can only hope they don’t cut our supplies the same way they cut Japan’s after a territorial dispute in 2010. Right now, the Chinese have us over a dangerous barrel. Your Eyes on the Hill. Floyd G. Brown
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 09:01:57 +0000
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