January 27, 2026 - Last week Congressman Pete Stauber led the passage in the House of a key Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to reverse the prior administration’s unfounded withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of federal lands from mining in Northern Minnesota. The resolution still needs to pass the Senate and be signed by the President.

Our country is currently 100 percent import reliant for 15 minerals that our supply chains absolutely need—and we don’t have to be. We have these minerals right here at home, but our access is obstructed by outdated policies that don’t reflect the modern world. In fact, this specific mining ban was enacted in an area of the United States that contains significant mineral deposits including more than 90 percent of the nation’s deposits of nickel and cobalt, and about a third of our nation’s copper.

We are in the most mineral intensive time in history. And we have some of the most mineral rich lands in the world. Fortunately, the U.S. is home to the world’s top environmental, labor and safety regulations, making this the absolute best place to secure the minerals we need for everything from data center construction to power grid transmission upgrades, defense systems to high tech applications.

We urge the Senate to join the House in taking the steps necessary to re-risk our supply chains, chip away at China’s mineral dominance, and create the potential for a lot of high-quality American jobs in Minnesota and beyond.