The nation’s reliance on imported critical minerals and rare earth elements from China was discussed in 245 committee meetings and mentioned in 95 reports during the 118th Congress’s 2022 and 2023 sessions, according to Congress.Gov. When Congress adjourned on Dec. 20 with the midnight passage of a continuing resolution to fund the government through March, it did so without adopting any of the 415 proposed bills related to critical minerals as standalone legislation over the last two years. While measures bolstering supply chains and processing capacity for national defense were incorporated into omnibus spending packages, such as the annual National Defense Authorization Act, only a handful of critical mineral bills were vetted in committee and a rare few presented for floor votes before dying unheard in the other chamber….