PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 26, 2025
Uranium for Energy Independence Act of 2025
This bill includes uranium on the critical minerals list. In 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published a list of critical minerals, including uranium, in response to an executive order that called for a federal strategy to ensure secure and reliable supplies of critical minerals. The USGS updates the list every three years and includes certain minerals that are essential to economic or national security and have a supply chain vulnerable to disruption. In 2022, USGS removed uranium from the list. The bill reinstates uranium as a critical mineral and requires uranium to be treated as if it were included on that list at the time of publication.
People & committees
Rep. McGuire, John [R-VA-5] · R–VA
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jan 16, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-26 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would give uranium federal “critical mineral” status despite federal rules excluding minerals used as fuel. It would require federal officials to treat uranium as included on the 2022 critical minerals list from its publication date and include it on every subsequent list issued under the specified law.
Notwithstanding the exclusion of fuel minerals from the definition of the term critical mineral under any Federal law, regulation, or Executive order, uranium—
(1) is deemed to be included on the 2022 final list of critical minerals in the notice entitled 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals published by the United States Geological Survey (87 Fed. Reg. 10381; February 24, 2022), and shall be treated as if included on that list at the time of publication; and (2) shall be included on each subsequent list of critical minerals published pursuant to section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606).
Section 1 would name the bill the Uranium for Energy Independence Act of 2025.
This Act may be cited as the Uranium for Energy Independence Act of 2025.
Uranium’s proposed classification would apply despite fuel-mineral exclusions in any federal law, regulation, or executive order.
Notwithstanding the exclusion of fuel minerals from the definition of the term critical mineral under any Federal law, regulation, or Executive order, uranium—
The bill would treat uranium as already included when the United States Geological Survey published its 2022 final critical minerals list on February 24, 2022.
(1) is deemed to be included on the 2022 final list of critical minerals in the notice entitled 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals published by the United States Geological Survey (87 Fed. Reg. 10381; February 24, 2022), and shall be treated as if included on that list at the time of publication;
Every subsequent critical minerals list published under section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 would have to include uranium.
(2) shall be included on each subsequent list of critical minerals published pursuant to section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated January 16, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 26, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-01-16T16:05:30Z. 2025-02-26: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. 2025-02-26: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-26. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version, not other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version, not other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The text contains a mineral-specific exception that is central to the bill’s policy. This classification does not establish a financial benefit or improper purpose.
Uranium would receive a specific exception to federal exclusions for fuel minerals, securing inclusion on the 2022 critical minerals list and subsequent lists under the referenced law.
Notwithstanding the exclusion of fuel minerals from the definition of the term critical mineral under any Federal law, regulation, or Executive order, uranium—
(1) is deemed to be included on the 2022 final list of critical minerals in the notice entitled 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals published by the United States Geological Survey (87 Fed. Reg. 10381; February 24, 2022), and shall be treated as if included on that list at the time of publication; and (2) shall be included on each subsequent list of critical minerals published pursuant to section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606).
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jan 16, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI