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Manufacturers rely on critical minerals across a host of applications, from smartphones to batteries to crucial defense technologies. But to ensure manufacturing competitiveness in the long-term, the U.S. needs to strengthen domestic production and supply chains, the NAM said this week.

What’s going on: Robust critical mineral supply chains require equally robust legislation, the NAM told the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at a Tuesday hearing. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), the subcommittee’s chairman, entered this statement from the NAM into the record.

What should be done: “Given the broad reach of the manufacturing sector and impact that manufacturing’s success can have on the American economy, it is essential that policymakers take action to ensure reliable and quick access to critical minerals and natural resources,” NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen and NAM Senior Director of Energy and Resources Policy Michael Davin told the subcommittee.

That action should include passing the following NAM-backed bills:

• H.R. 1501, Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025: Modifies the FAST Act to classify mining activities as covered projects and ensure that such operations are protected under the framework.
• H.R. 2969, Finding ORE Act: Enables “the secretary of the interior to work with foreign countries to increase data acquisition, prospectivity mapping and training, with a focus on improving supply chain resilience and investment.”
• H.R. 4781, RESCUE Act of 2025: Modifies the FAST Act to expand the definition of a critical project to include extraction, recovery or processing activities for minerals, rare earth elements and microfine carbon or carbon from coal byproducts.
• H.R. 5929, Critical Minerals Supply Chain Resiliency Act: Treats actions taken by the Defense Department to support domestic critical mineral production as covered projects under the FAST Act.
• H.R. 7126, the SECURE Minerals Act of 2026: Creates a government corporation to secure U.S. access to critical minerals through domestic and partner country production, stable pricing and reduced reliance on foreign supply chains.
• H.R. 7458, Domestic ORE Act: Requires notice for mineral exploration activities on public lands that the secretary of the Interior must approve.