EMRTAI Authorization Act of 2026

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of my bill, H.R. 9616, the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative, or EMRTAI, Authorization Act of 2026.

Critical materials are essential to some of the most important technologies and products in the communications, energy, defense, and transportation sectors. However, their supply chains are vulnerable to disruption, and we rely on other nations, including

adversaries such as China, for many of them.

China is currently responsible for over 70 percent of global rare earths metal production and refines up to 87 percent of the world's supply of critical minerals.

Unless we develop more domestic sources for critical materials, we will remain at the mercy of our enemies. Fortunately, cutting-edge technologies are emerging to identify and take advantage of unconventional sources of critical materials right here at home.

For example, in my home State of Texas, researchers and companies are exploring ways to recover lithium and other critical minerals from produced water generated during oil and gas production.

The Permian Basin alone generates millions of barrels of produced water every day, one of the largest produced water streams in the world. The sheer volume of that water can present a challenge but also presents an incredible opportunity to recover valuable critical minerals from a resource that has been historically treated as a waste stream.

Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of contaminated sites across the United States, including over 1,300 on the EPA's National Priorities List of the country's most contaminated sites.

Additionally, on Federal lands alone, the Federal Government has spent over $100 million remediating contamination from abandoned hardrock mine sites. However, while these sites are threats to human health and the environment, they can be good sources of critical minerals.

The EMRTAI Authorization Act of 2026 directs the EPA to stand up a program to support methods to identify and recover critical materials at contaminated sites, contributing to the development of new domestic sources and encouraging the remediation of these sites. EPA already has experience funding such projects.

Addressing our supply chain vulnerability is a daunting challenge, but creative solutions that leverage technological innovation play a major role in solving it.

I am grateful that we can work across the aisle to advance this legislation, and I thank my colleague from Ohio, Mr. Landsman, for joining me in leading this endeavor.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 9616) to establish a program for the recovery of critical materials from contaminated sites, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 9616.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of contaminated sites across the United States, and the waste materials present at these sites may be rich sources of critical materials that can be recovered with the right technology.

That is why my colleagues, Representatives Pfluger and Landsman, have introduced the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative, or EMRTAI, Authorization Act of 2026.

The EPA already operates a similar program through general authorities, but this legislation formally authorizes the program, expands it to include other types of contaminated sites, and provides guidance to EPA in selecting which projects to support.

This legislation enjoyed broad bipartisan support at the committee level, and I urge my colleagues in the House to support its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), the sponsor of this legislation and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee who works tirelessly on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank my friend from Texas, Mr. Pfluger, and my friend from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Landsman, just across the river from our great Commonwealth, for working together on this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9616, the Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative Authorization Act.

This bill would help us reach the dual goals of cleaning up toxic sites while also ensuring critical minerals found at those sites don't go to waste. This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to identify and recover critical minerals from contaminated sites.

There are countless Superfund and other contaminated industrial sites across the country, including in my home district. Many of these sites have been abandoned for decades, with local communities suffering the consequences.

While we clean up through public funds, we could also help replenish our domestic supply of critical minerals needed for clean energy projects to save American families money on soaring energy bills, and those bills are soaring now thanks to Trump's reckless war of choice in Iran.

This program is a shot in the arm for emerging technologies to extract critical minerals from contaminated sites and waste that would otherwise sit in landfills. It also has an added benefit of incentivizing cleanups of some of the world's worst toxic sites in the Nation.

This program is a clear win-win for the environment and our domestic supply chain. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 9616, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.