Sponsors (8)
Designating uranium as a critical mineral strengthens domestic supply-chain planning and federal support for uranium-related industries, but raises local environmental/health risks, potential taxpayer costs, and implementation burdens on agencies.
Utilities, domestic uranium producers, and state energy planners gain clearer regulatory footing and greater access to federal support because uranium is designated a critical mineral, helping planning, permitting, supply-chain resilience, and potential funding/research.
Federal agencies and technical staff receive clearer statutory direction to monitor uranium resources and produce data useful for planners, regulators, and affected communities.
Nearby and rural communities face increased local environmental and health risks if designation accelerates uranium permitting or development without stronger safeguards.
Federal support for expanding domestic uranium supply could raise federal spending or indirect costs that are ultimately borne by taxpayers.
Federal agencies and regulators will incur legal and administrative transition costs to implement the updated statutory definition and any overridden exclusions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires uranium to be treated as a "critical mineral" on the USGS 2022 list and on all future lists under 30 U.S.C. § 1606, overriding fuel-mineral exclusions.
Introduced February 26, 2025 by John J. McGuire · Last progress February 26, 2025
This bill requires uranium to be treated as a "critical mineral" for the purposes of the USGS 2022 final list and for every future critical-mineral list published under federal law, explicitly overriding any existing legal exclusions that treat fuel minerals differently. It changes the statutory scope of the term "critical mineral" so uranium will be included on current and subsequent federal critical-mineral lists, which can affect how federal agencies and programs consider and prioritize uranium in supply-chain, research, and strategic planning.