WASHINGTON — As the new chair of the Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee, Congressman Gary Palmer has carved out a space to tackle one of his biggest priorities: critical minerals.

The minerals, including rare earth elements, are essential to manufacturing and energy technologies. They’re used in smartphones, EV batteries, televisions and heavy equipment.

“It is of incredibly pressing importance that we secure our own ability to refine the materials that we need,” Palmer, R-Birmingham, told Alabama Daily News in an interview before August recess.

Palmer, the sixth-term congressman, was tapped to take the gavel of the Environment Subcommittee in July, after previously overseeing the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Now, Palmer will have the authority to write legislati

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