[PopSci] On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that he was issuing a directive to use the Defense Production Act to boost the production and processing of critical minerals and other materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese. These are substances needed to make batteries, which can in turn power electric vehicles and store renewable energy. This will also allow for other industries to advance corresponding tools and technologies that will decrease the country's reliance on fossil fuels, the president said in an address to the public. To accomplish this, Biden directed the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, to fund feasibility studies for new projects, decrease waste at existing sites, and modernize domestic mines so they can amp up production of critical minerals, The New York Times reported.
The president can use the Defense Production Act of 1950 to speedily expand the supply of essential materials and services for domestic industries to promote national defense. Civil transportation and energy are only two of the areas that are covered under this act. The act was originally passed in response to the Korean War by the Truman administration, and was later used during the Cold War. Last year, Biden also used the DPA to bolster the health supply chain for COVID vaccines, testing, and protective equipment.
"Through the DPA, the President can, among other activities, prioritize government contracts for goods and services over competing customers, and offer incentives within the domestic market to enhance the production and supply of critical materials and technologies when necessary for national defense," according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. "The DPA has been amended and reauthorized numerous times since its original enactment."
The Greens have been fighting this for years. What oh what will they do now? Popcorn please.