WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Blake Moore has introduced legislation in the 119th Congress to strengthen American mining and restore domestic energy independence.
“The U.S. domestic mining industry is critical to our national security and energy dominance,” Moore explained, after advancing his proposal dubbed the Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025.
“In Utah alone, mining supports more than 43,000 jobs and contributes more than $5.2 billion to our state’s gross domestic product annually.”
Moore’s proposed legislation would block rules imposed by the Biden administration that complicated the permitting process for critical materials like copper and iron, as well as streamlining their extraction.
Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act – often referred to as FAST-41 – establishes protocols and provide funding for infrastructure projects overseen by the federal government, according to members of Moore’s staff on Capitol Hill.
In 2021, Biden era bureaucrats added mining to FAST-41, making projects ranging from renewable/conventional energy production to semi-conductors and artificial intelligence governed by infrastructure regulations.
Then, under the guise of improving the environment, the former administration imposed rules to block certain minerals from being qualified for expedited permitting.
“Mineral production in America is among the cleanest and safest in the world,” argues U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
“We now taking steps in Congress to more efficiently mine here at home instead of importing foreign minerals from our adversaries.”
Westerman singled out Moore’s bill for particular praise, citing its potential to streamline mining permits and eliminate China’s chokehold on America’s mineral supply chains.
The US mining industry has been around for hundreds of years and has always been a major contributor to American industries.
After a period of tough times in the early 21st Century due to lull in domestic manufacturing, the mining industry is now on the rebound with a gross output of more than $860 billion in 2022 and generating $80 billion in labor income for 1.2 million miners nationwide.
Moore’s proposed Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025 will help to push that recovery by improving the timeliness, predictability and transparency of federal environmental reviews of mining operations, according to Richard Russell, of the National Mining Association.
Moore’s proposed legislation is being co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve (R-IN).
“(This bill) ensures that critical mining projects can quickly receive the necessary permits and reestablish our nation as a prominent leader in energy production,” Shreve added.