AFP-AZ Pans Admin’s Proposed Changes to Mining Laws

Sep 14, 2023 by AFP

Phoenix, Arizona—Yesterday, the Biden Administration proposed fundamental changes to U.S. mining laws that would decimate the existing U.S. mining industry and subsequently disrupt the U.S. supply chain for critical mineral production and manufacturing.

The proposal would create a variable tax on hard rock minerals extracted from federal lands and create a mine leasing system with more federal permitting requirements from several federal agencies.

Americans for Prosperity State Director Stephen Shadegg panned the proposal:

“The Biden Administration’s move to create another national monument in the Grand Canyon was little more than a federal land grab. That was bad enough. The Copper State cannot afford more red tape and more taxes on a critical part of our economy. By deterring U.S. production of minerals with more taxes and byzantine permitting, the Biden Administration is destroying jobs, distorting the markets, and increasing our dependence on extraction and manufacturing from foreign companies.

“At a time when inflation is at a 40-year high, you’d think the Administration would spend its time looking for ways to make life more affordable—instead it’s literally inventing more barriers to prosperity.”

Background

On September 15, AFP-AZ will lead a tour of activists and business leaders to Resolution Copper as a stop on the “Prosperity is Possible” RV Tour. Resolution Copper is one of the mining operations that would be severely impacted by the Administration’s new mining proposals. However, the mining operation is already stalled by existing regulations. Resolution Copper is featured in a new report from AFP which shows how federal permitting delays and environmental litigation delay the development of new energy projects and weaken the energy grid nationwide.

Americans for Prosperity’s “Prosperity is Possible” Tour focuses on empowering individuals and businesses to achieve their full potential by reducing the size and cost of government and promoting policies that reward hard work and innovation. The campaign’s goal is to make the American dream a tangible reality by advancing policies that support a flexible workforce, energy availability and affordability, and responsible fiscal and regulatory policies that slow inflation and promote growth.

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