Washington, D.C. — Today, Abigail Hunter, Executive Director of the Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Mineral Strategy at SAFE, testifies before the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations during its hearing, “Examining Ways to Enhance Our Critical Mineral Supply Chains.”
In her testimony, Hunter warned that the United States faces a strategic chokepoint in the processing stage of critical minerals—a segment of the supply chain overwhelmingly dominated by China and essential to the future of American energy, technology, and defense.
“Processing is the linchpin between raw materials and finished technologies. It is where industrial capability is either captured or outsourced,” Hunter told the committee. “If current trajectories continue and processing remains dominated by China, the United States will remain dependent on foreign decision-making for the technologies that define future economic and national security leadership.”
Hunter’s remarks underscored the urgency of U.S. action to address this vulnerability through targeted, material-specific policy, demand-side incentives, and public-private investment in domestic processing capacity. She called for greater alignment of infrastructure development with strategic policy tools—including permitting reform, sourcing requirements, and energy access—to ensure the U.S. can compete at scale with state-backed adversaries.
Hunter also emphasized the role of the commercial sector in supporting national security goals, citing President Trump’s Executive Order 14272, which recognized that “the commercial sector is not merely a partner to the defense industrial base—it is its foundation.”
Hunter’s testimony was informed by a detailed analysis SAFE prepared in response to the Department of Commerce’s request for public comment on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Products.
SAFE continues to advocate for a robust, allied, and diversified mineral supply chain that anchors American industrial strength, supports our defense industrial base, and restores strategic autonomy.
To read Hunter’s full testimony, click here.
To watch Hunter’s full testimony, click here.
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About SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy
SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy (Minerals Center) aims to secure all aspects of the critical minerals supply chain to help ensure the national and economic security of the United States and our allies as we transition to a minerals-based economy.
About SAFE
SAFE is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization committed to transportation, energy, and supply chain policies that advance the economic and national security of the United States, its partners, and allies. Since 2004, SAFE has worked with its Energy Security Leadership Council—a peerless coalition of current and former Fortune 500 CEOs and retired 4-star admirals and generals—to support secure, resilient, and responsible energy solutions. Learn more at SecureEnergy.org.
