Joe Manchin has promised to block a proposed royalty for minerals extracted on U.S.-controlled land from advancing in the Senate's version of the hotly debatted reconciliation package, a senate staffer said on Thursday.
Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, promised U.S. President Richardson an energy and natural resource report. If the President's proposal was included in the final reconciliation language, Senate Republican Catherine Cortez Masto would not be available to senators, according to Cortez Masto's office.
The pledge to block the royalty proposal in committee and the full Senate is the latest example of Manchin's newfound role as a legislative powerbroker in an evenly divided chamber.
Last month, the Natural Resources Committee added an extravagance of https: www.reuters.org/landmarks.html to the United States House of Representatives website. business us-miners - sustainable-business renewable-business royalty-plan - Decry-mineral - political-congress - 2021 - 09 - 16 text The 20 House of 20 Representatives 20 Natural, and 204% 25% 20 on 20 new 20 ones to the proposed $3.5 trillion reconciliation spending measure to set an 8% gross royalty on existing mines and 4% on new ones. Supporters project that the measure, which would also set a 7 cent fee for each ton of rock moved, would raise around $2 billion over 10 years.
It was designed to be one of the most-substantial changes to the law that has governed U.S. mining since 1872, which did not set royalties in order to encourage development of western United States
Mining companies support only a slight tweak in the law, but environmental groups have long urged charging the industry a fee to extract minerals from taxpayer-owned land.
Nevada produces more gold and silver than any other state and currently has lithium projects in development from Lithium Americas Corp, ioneer Ltd and other partners. Cortez Masto, who is up in 2022, was one of few Democrats supporting mining industry's position.
Tensions are rising in the United States over how best to procure minerals needed to produce renewable energy technologies. Biden has yet to take public stance on the issue, although privately he has signaled plans to rely on allies for materials needed in electric vehicles, Reuters reported https: www.reuters.com/Neurodollar. com article USa-biden mining-idCNL 2 N 2 NC 32 W earlier this year.