<p style="font-weight: 400;">Arkansas GOP senator Tom Cotton, who has been at the forefront of efforts to protect the United States from Communist China, is introducing a bill that would expedite the harvesting of minerals needed for the nation’s defense and reduce the nation’s dependence on China.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The bill, titled the Necessary Environmental Exemptions for Defense Act, would make it easier for mining activities and permit the Pentagon to “operate with maximum agility and efficiency to ensure it is prepared to deter and, if necessary, fight and win a conflict with the Chinese Communist Party,” Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republican-moves-give-u-s-edge-china-harvesting-minerals-weapons-systems">reported</a>.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“Currently, China produces roughly 60% of the world&#8217;s critical mineral supply, and processes up to 90%,” Fox News noted.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The group of rare earths is comprised of “17 elements composed of scandium,  yttrium, and the lanthanides,” James B. Hedrick of the US Geological Survey <a href="https://uscriticalmaterials.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rare-Earths-in-Selected-Defense-Applications.pdf">noted</a>. The lanthanides include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“On April 4, China’s Ministry of Commerce imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements (REEs) and magnets used in the defense, energy, and automotive sectors in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff increases on Chinese products,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/consequences-chinas-new-rare-earths-export-restrictions">reported</a>. “The restrictions apply to seven medium and heavy rare earths: samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. The United States is particularly vulnerable for these supply chains. Until 2023, China accounted for 99 percent of global heavy REEs processing, with only minimal output from a refinery in Vietnam. However, that facility has been shut down for the past year due to a tax dispute, effectively giving China a monopoly over supply.”</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“Current environmental laws put our readiness to counter Communist China at risk and waste taxpayer dollars on projects that stall out and die on the vine,&#8221; Cotton told Fox News Digital. &#8220;This bill will create jobs, better arm and prepare our soldiers, and spend taxpayer dollars more efficiently.&#8221;</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Cotton’s bill would permit the administration to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act; he stated that they “frequently and unnecessarily delay” the military’s readiness without “substantial benefit to the environment or protected species.”</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Cotton suggested as far back as January 30, 2020, that the COVID-19 virus might have come from Wuhan, prompting harsh criticisms from leftists. Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Hearing, he asserted, &#8220;I want to talk about the biggest and most important story in the world. The Wuhan coronavirus. This coronavirus is a catastrophe on the scale of Chernobyl for China. But actually, it’s probably worse than Chernobyl, which was localized in its effect. The coronavirus could result in a global pandemic. While you were all sleeping overnight, the number of diagnosed cases in China increased by 30%. Let me be clear: that’s not new cases; that is just newly-admitted cases. It is probably several orders of magnitude higher than that.”</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“We still don’t know where coronavirus originated,” Cotton said. “Could have been a market, a farm, a food processing company. I would note that Wuhan has China’s only biosafety level-four super laboratory that works with the world’s most deadly pathogens to include, yes, coronavirus.”</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">In March 2020, Cotton <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-tom-cotton-on-china-i-have-never-trusted-a-communist-and-i-never-will-trust-a-communist">said</a> bluntly, “I have never trusted a Communist and I never will trust a Communist. And that&#8217;s who runs China — the Chinese Communist Party.”</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">A 2019 <a href="https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/SO-19/Sec-Def-extract.pdf">Pentagon report</a> stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>China’s military modernization also targets capabilities with the potential to degrade core U.S. operational and technological advantages. China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including targeted foreign direct investment, cyber theft, and exploitation of private Chinese nationals’ access to these technologies, as well as harnessing its intelligence services, computer intrusions, and other illicit approaches. In 2018, Chinese efforts to acquire sensitive, dual-use, or military-grade equipment from the United States included dynamic random access memory, aviation technologies, and anti- submarine warfare technologies.</em></p>
</blockquote>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

Tom Cotton Introduces Bill To Break China’s Monopoly On Rare Earth Minerals For U.S. Defense

Four Republicans Help Democrats Hide Behind The Filibuster — Then Mike Lee Drops The Hammer

State Department Slams U.K.’s ‘Two-Tiered Policing’ As Outrage Grows Over Henry Nowak Killing

Trump Targets Cuba’s Power Structure In Sweeping Blow To Communist Elites

HISTORY FAIL: Democrat Attacking Bessent Gets Stumped By Simple Question

House Strikes Rep’s ‘Terrorist’ Jab At Rashida Tlaib — But Her Own Record Tells The Story

Trump Blasts ‘Big Cheating’ In California As Votes Trickle In

News

Communist China

Military Weapons

rare earth minerals

Tom Cotton

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

The Pendragon Cycle

Menu

— News —

Tom Cotton Introduces Bill To Break China’s Monopoly On Rare Earth Minerals For U.S. Defense