Defending America: Congress Must Act on Minerals Security

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO

April 15, 2026

Dear Friend,

Ongoing conflicts overseas have forced an uncomfortable reckoning. As the U.S. military utilizes weaponry and munitions, a critical question looms – how long can America sustain this level of defense operations? The answer lies in our nation’s ability to secure reliable access to the minerals that make modern defense technologies possible.

Eight in 10 Americans understand this reality. Minerals aren’t peripheral to defense, they’re essential. Without gallium and germanium in semiconductors, antimony in munitions and rare earths in radar systems, we cannot field fighter aircraft, jets, drones or the advanced chips that power our guidance systems. Every piece of military equipment our troops depend on requires minerals we increasingly cannot produce domestically.

This is not an abstract vulnerability, but rather an acute national security problem playing out in real time. Yet America’s mineral weakness is not inevitable; it’s the direct result of policy choices including decades of regulatory barriers and permitting delays.

The Trump administration has taken important steps through new mining investments, a strategic minerals reserve and efforts to build minerals partnerships outside China’s control. But this progress will remain incomplete without decisive congressional action.

Congress must reform the permitting process to remove regulatory barriers and create predictable timelines for new mines. This will allow us to reinvest in the Defense Stockpile, creating a baseline of domestic productive capacity that will serve as the irreplaceable foundation for mineral security. These are not luxury expenditures – they are national security imperatives. Congress must act with the urgency this moment demands. Pass the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act and the SPEED Act to give America the minerals security our defense requires.

Thank you,

Rich Nolan
National Mining Association (NMA)
President and CEO