Yesterday, I told you about something I like about John Hickenlooper’s S. 5587, the National Critical Minerals Council Act.
Today, I’ll tell you what I don’t like about it.
The bill focuses on America’s need for critical minerals and on creating a national strategy to ensure we have access to the resources our country needs.
I understand that.
But as I read about critical minerals, I kept thinking about the people who live where those minerals are found.
Their communities are not just places on a map where America can get the resources we need.
People live there.
They work there.
They raise their families there.
And their land and natural resources have value.
The United Nations has raised concerns about communities being left with environmental damage, unsafe working conditions, and too little of the economic benefit when valuable minerals are extracted. It has also called for fair and transparent mineral value chains and for producing countries and local communities to benefit from their resources.
That brought me to a question that I don’t see addressed in S. 5587:
Where is the conversation about fair trade?
The Bible has something to say about fairness in our dealings with one another:
“A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.” — Proverbs 11:1 (KJV)
If America needs minerals another country has, shouldn’t we ask whether the people and communities providing those resources are receiving a fair return?
I’m not saying America shouldn’t pursue the minerals we need.
I’m saying that if our needs affect how people live thousands of miles away, I think we should pay attention to how those resources are obtained and how the benefits are shared.
To me, a strong supply chain shouldn’t only answer the question, “How do we get what America needs?”
It should also ask, “Are we dealing fairly with the people who have it?”
That’s my question as I continue doing my election homework on John Hickenlooper.
I’m going to tell you what I like.
I’m also going to tell you what I think is missing.
Because this is my vote, and I want to know what I’m voting for.
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