The Department of Defense on Monday announced the establishment of a federal advisory committee to offer up advice for how to secure and strengthen the government’s stockpile of raw materials.
The “strategic and critical materials board of directors” will advise top DOD officials on issues tied to the National Defense Stockpile, an emergency store of raw materials created in the 1930s that the government maintains to respond to world conflicts and other emergencies.
“This Board will convene leading experts across industry and the federal government to inform the Department’s efforts to ensure secure and resilient access to the materials and minerals that underpin key defense capabilities,” Laura Taylor-Kale, the DOD’s assistant secretary of Defense for industrial base policy, said in a press release.
Interest is growing on and off Capitol Hill around how to bolster the nation’s ability to stock up on and securely control critical minerals that are largely dominated by China, from antimony used in weapons to graphite needed to make batteries. Concerns are growing as nations scramble to lock in sources of raw materials needed for high-tech equipment, from energy to military applications. Last month, Republican House members pitched a plan to create a $2.5 billion critical minerals reserve to counter China but struggled to secure Democratic support.
