Last week, U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., introduced a proposal to “include phosphate and potash on the final list of critical minerals of the Department of the Interior.”
Cammack weighed in on why she wanted to add those minerals to the Interior Department’s list.
“A nation that cannot feed itself is not secure. Without the necessary inputs to feed, clothe, and fuel our nation, we’re leaving our food and national security up to our adversaries,” said Cammack. “Adding these vital resources to the Critical Minerals List will encourage increased domestic production and deliver much-needed relief to the Florida producers who rely on these inputs for their crops. We have the resources here at home—it’s time we tap into them. I thank my colleagues for their support of this effort and look forward to their continued partnership.”
U.S. Reps. Barry Moore, R-Ala., Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., are co-sponsoring the proposal.
“America’s producers are the only customers who buy their inputs at retail cost and sell their outputs at wholesale price. Farmers, ranchers, and foresters in Alabama have been dealing with profit margins too thin to take care of their families,” said Moore. “Designating phosphate and potash as critical minerals is the first step in tapping our capacity for domestic production of our producers’ input costs, namely affordable fertilizer products.”
“Our food security is our national security, so when we’re dependent on Russian and Chinese minerals for the fertilizer that grows our crops, we are putting ourselves at risk,” said Slotkin. “Adding potash and phosphate to the Department of Interior’s Critical Minerals List will accurately reflect their strategic importance, encouraging increased domestic production, lowering fertilizer costs for our farmers, and keeping our food supply secure. And as one of the only states to hold its own supply of potash, Michigan is well-equipped to fuel a resurgence in production.”
“American producers are feeling the high prices for fertilizer due to the war in Ukraine and its disruption of the supply chains for needed minerals,” said Panetta. “We want to help our farmers with this bipartisan legislation that would allow the federal government to readily tap into our domestic potash and phosphate resources. Despite the devastation and destruction in Ukraine, we are acting in Congress to protect American agriculture and preserve global food security.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee.
Over in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, is championing the proposal.
