Manufacturing and Minerals Should Be A 2016 Presidential Election Issue
May 18, 2016
Since 2000, the U.S. economy has lost more than five million manu...
With the election less than two weeks away, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are making the final pushes for their policy platforms. Political parties and individual candidates aside, the mining community agrees that the next president needs to recognize the impact that the mining industry has on the U.S. In 2015, U.S. mines produced $78.3 billion worth of minerals. American mining has the potential to improve the economy even more if candidates are willing to support public policies that encourage timely access to domestic minerals and metals.
National Mining Association created Mine the Vote to educate voters about the political parties and candidates that support U.S. mining. The resources provide a closer look at each platform adopted by the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the differences in candidates’ campaign policies regarding mining legislation and regulation.
For instance, mining professionals agree that the new financial assurance rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is duplicative, unnecessary, and would cause harm to the hardrock mining industry. At a high level, it is easy to say that one political party thinks that the government is too restrictive and the other feels that government regulations should be tougher. But party platforms are not black and white, so when it comes to specific issues, we encourage people to do the research and see what candidates on the ballot are supporting mining. We have also included a page to compare party platforms as they relate to mining and the manufacturing sector on Mine The Vote make that research easier.
To educate yourself on the issues and get a better understanding of what this election means for American mining, visit the Mine The Vote website here.