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The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a full committee markup on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT) for, among others, two bills introduced by Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) – H.R. 761, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013, and H.R. 1169, the Naval Air Station Fallon Housing and Safety Development Act.

H.R. 761, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013, would allow the United States to more efficiently develop strategic and critical minerals, such as rare earth elements, that are vital to job creation, American economic competitiveness, and national security. The bill streamlines the permitting process for mineral development by coordinating the actions of federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to reduce red tape while protecting the environmental review process.

"In the 2012 ranking of countries for mining investment, the United States ranked last in permitting delays," said Amodei. "Duplicative regulations, bureaucratic inefficiency, and lack of coordination between federal agencies are threatening the economic recovery of my home state and jeopardizing our national security. Nevada, which is rich in strategic and critical minerals, also has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. Decade-long permitting delays are standing in the way of high-paying jobs and revenue for local communities. This bill would streamline the permitting process to leverage our nation's vast mineral resources, while paying due respect to economic and environmental concerns."

H.R. 1169 , Naval Air Station Fallon Housing and Safety Development Act, would transfer a 400 acre Bureau of Land Management parcel within the confines of the Fallon Naval Air Station to the Secretary of the Navy. This land would be used for 200 new homes for Navy families and would provide needed flexibility to enable the base to grow. In 1991, BLM made this request, but more than 20 years later, the transfer has still not occurred.

“Most importantly, this land will enable the Navy to upgrade base housing without displacing families from their current homes,” said Amodei.

The committee will stream the markup live on: http://naturalresources.house.gov/live/

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