Vote no on H.R. 7688, the DPA Modernization Act, and block its inclusion in the NDAA. The House Rules Committee could take this up as early as the week of June 29th, so there's no time to waste. This bill would let agency heads unilaterally waive NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other bedrock environmental laws — at their sole discretion — to fast-track mining permits.
The conflicts of interest here are staggering. The bill authorizes the federal government to take equity stakes in mining companies, meaning the same government that regulates these projects would financially benefit from approving them. Trump's family already holds a financial stake in Vulcan Metals, which received a $620 million Defense Department loan. Meanwhile, the bill could raise the DPA financial cap from $750 million to $2 billion, with Trump's FY2027 budget requesting over $30 billion for these instruments — a massive taxpayer subsidy for an industry that already pays no royalties on public lands.
The Defense Production Act was never meant to be a tool for gutting environmental review or enriching politically connected mining companies. Keep this bill off the NDAA.
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