It was a busy week on Capitol Hill, between Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announcing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and the House unable to pass any spending bills as the government barrels toward a shutdown.

Amid all the chaos, the Biden administration released a much-anticipated report with mining reform suggestions. But if Nevada’s two senators’ reactions are any indication, moving forward will be a slippery slope. 

Senators say mining proposal gives China upper hand

In a 140-page report released Wednesday, the Biden administration’s mining working group proposed a path forward for mining reform in an attempt to address two complicated truths. 

The Biden administration has prompted an increase in the demand for critical minerals as it has promoted a transition to clean energy, increasing the need for hardrock mining in Nevada for lithium in particular. The Biden administration wants to shore up the country’s mineral supply chains to lessen dependence on foreign countries, especially China. 

But secondly, environmental advocates — a key group of the Biden coalition — have long called for updates to the 1872 law that governs hardrock mining, such as increasing fees, and ensuring that the demands of hardrock mining have as little adverse effect on the surrounding environment as possible.

Ultimately, the working group proposed that Congress make major reforms to the 151-year old law, including transitioning to a leasing system similar to other extractive industries, imposing a royalty between 4 percent and 8 percent on minerals mined from public lands, up from the 0 percent royalty in place today, and charging a fee on excess material dug up, which the industry refers to as a “dirt tax.”

Many aspects of the report were non-starters for the mining industry and its allies in Congress — chief among them, Nevada’s two senators.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) is the heir to both Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) seat in the Senate and his long standing defense of the mining industry — a partnership that has always defied electoral math, given rural communities’ lack of general support for either Democrat, though Cortez Masto improved on margins there in 2022. Reid, the son of a gold miner, always kept the industry close, fending off Democrats’ attempts at reform throughout his tenure. Cortez Masto, cognizant of the mining industry’s hold in the state and the jobs it provides, fought to keep mining reform out of Democrats’ Build Back Better domestic policy agenda.

“These recommendations to impose new taxes and change the mining claims process would make it harder to create new mining projects in the United States at a time when too many companies are sourcing these minerals from Communist China,” she said in a statement.

Rich Nolan, the president of the National Mining Association (NMA), called the recommendations “unworkable and unreasonable,” and said the report indicated a lack of understanding from the Biden administration about the industry.

Nolan specifically opposed four recommendations from the report: the new leasing system, the dirt tax, the proposed royalty structure and a lack of sufficient permitting reform.

Mining leases differ from oil and gas leases. Under the current system, companies seek a claim on land via prospecting permit to explore it for mineral deposits. Other types of mining, such as coal extraction or oil and gas exploration, require a lease obtained through competitive bidding, to ensure taxpayers receive fair market price for exploration on public lands. 

The Biden administration wants Congress to transition hardrock mining to a lease system, which the NMA opposes, saying it can take indefinite time and resources to know if a parcel of land does indeed have valuable minerals, making lease bidding and renewals potentially cost-prohibitive.

The NMA is open to updating the royalty system — it has suggested 2 percent — but it says the administration's 4 percent to 8 percent rate would reduce mining’s profitability. 

The organization also called the report a “missed opportunity” to cut down on the time it takes for new mining claims to go through environmental compliance, which they say is significantly shorter in other nations. The report pushed back on this claim, saying the average environmental review takes four to five years.

Cortez Masto and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) lined up behind the NMA’s position, although Rosen used somewhat softer language.

“While this report offers needed recommendations to reform federal mining regulations, some of the proposals will hurt the mining industry and fail to bolster our nation's domestic mineral supply chain,” Rosen said in a statement. 

The most controversial recommendations — including the leasing system — are likely to go nowhere in a Congress in which Republicans control one chamber. Some do have bipartisan support, such as a provision to clean up abandoned mines, which is backed by Cortez Masto and Rosen. And the administration can take its own action — without Congress’ help — on recommendations that involve agencies, including giving tribal nations greater input in the process, and facilitating interagency dialogue to streamline reviews.

But importantly, the report does stake out a policy claim for Democrats, putting Cortez Masto and Rosen at odds with their party. The proposal was met with praise and calls to go further from environmental party leaders including Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity. 

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), a former Nevada Mining Association president, said in a brief interview that he felt the administration did not seek sufficient input from stakeholders.

“Mining reform isn’t a dirty word, but it’s like anything else — you have to collaborate,” he said. “When you’re ready to start talking to the stakeholders … I look forward to that. But I’m not holding my breath.”

Around the Capitol

• Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) is introducing a bipartisan bill to accelerate public land appraisals by allowing private contractors who are credentialed in appraisal in one state or territory to do work on behalf of the Department of Interior in any state or territory.
• Rosen is trying to insert an amendment into a spending bill to fund $6 million for Mormon cricket suppression and control.
• Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Cortez Masto are introducing legislation to create new grants to help the tourism and outdoor recreation industries weather future economic struggles, as well as do workforce development training.
• Cortez Masto is part of a bipartisan group of senators introducing legislation to crack down on cryptocurrency money laundering, as Congress considers how to regulate digital assets.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a $2 million grant to Nevada’s Bridge Counseling Associates to help fund mental health services in Las Vegas.
• Rosen included funding for a national veterans’ cemetery near Elko in the Senate’s appropriations bill.
• Dina Titus … the Carrie Bradshaw of the House?

Notable and Quotable

“When I speak to young Latinas today, I always make it clear: I may be the first, but I won’t be the last.”

• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), on being the first Latina senator, in a Hispanic Heritage Month video

Legislative Tracker

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

Legislation co-sponsored:

S.2777 — Child Care Stabilization Act

S.2781 — A bill to promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines, and for other purposes.

S.J.Res.45 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.

S.2813 — A bill to promote and support collaboration between Hispanic-serving institutions and local educational agencies with high enrollments of Hispanic or Latino students, and for other purposes.

S.2825 — A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army dustoff crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam.

JACKY ROSEN

Legislation co-sponsored:

S.2781 — A bill to promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines, and for other purposes.

DINA TITUS

Legislation sponsored:

H.R.5517 — To reauthorize programs of the Economic Development Administration, and for other purposes.

Legislation co-sponsored:

H.Res.682 — Expressing support for the designation of the week beginning Sept. 11, 2023, as "National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week."

H.R.5428 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to end the tax subsidy for employer efforts to influence their workers' exercise of their rights around labor organizations and engaging in collective action.

H.R.5432 — Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act

H.R.5456 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to end the tax subsidy for employer efforts to influence their workers' exercise of their rights around labor organizations and engaging in collective action.

H.R.5460 — To direct the Department of Homeland Security to bolster security against threats posed by ghost guns, and for other purposes.

H.R.5469 — To promote and support collaboration between Hispanic-serving institutions and local educational agencies with high enrollments of Hispanic or Latino students, and for other purposes.

H.R.5492 — To improve the reproductive assistance provided by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to certain members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their spouses or partners, and for other purposes.

MARK AMODEI

H.Res.689 — Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the designation of "Public Radio Music Day" and its deep appreciation for the role of public radio music stations in serving listeners, musicians and hundreds of communities in the United States.

SUSIE LEE

Legislation sponsored:

H.R.5443 — To establish a policy regarding appraisal and valuation services for real property for a transaction over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction, and for other purposes.

Legislation co-sponsored:

H.R.5405 — Fairness to Kids with Cancer Act of 2023

H.Res.689 — Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the designation of "Public Radio Music Day" and its deep appreciation for the role of public radio music stations in serving listeners, musicians and hundreds of communities in the United States.

This article was updated at 1 p.m. 9/18/2023 to correct Rep. Mark Amodei's former job title as the head of the Nevada Mining Association. The story previously stated he led the National Mining Association.