Earlier this month, President Trump hosted a Made in America Product Showcase.
“We want to build, create, and grow more products in our country using American labor, American goods and American grit,” the President said. “We will protect our workers, promote our industry and be proud of our history because we will put America first,” he added.
But to be made in America, we must mine in America.
The new administration and Congress have made the past six months a bright spot for accomplishing many of our industry’s top priorities, including the repeal of the stream rule and the push to rescind the Clean Power Plan, but there is still much to be done. To put America first, we must work towards enacting policies that encourage the use of American resources.
In advance of fourth of July, Morning Consult conducted a poll for NMA revealing that public support for supply-side policies that facilitate domestic use of American coal and minerals. The poll found six in 10 voters support an all-of-the above energy policy that uses domestic energy sources – including coal. With fossil fuels generating nearly about 65 percent of our nation’s electricity, we need to ensure households and businesses have a reliable supply of affordable energy.
The poll also found that 60 percent of voter’s support streamlining the mine permitting process. Currently, the country is entirely import-dependent on 20 key minerals and more than 50 percent import-dependent for an additional 30 minerals. These minerals play important roles in our national defense, technology and infrastructure.
These findings are evidence that Americans want common sense policies that support mining, requiring continued focus from policymakers. To build a stronger future, the U.S. needs to address and fix what is broken, improving domestic mining policies to support a strong America.