WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) released the following statement on the bipartisan bill she is helping lead to combat illicit gold mining in our hemisphere after it advanced out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bipartisan U.S. Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Act would require a multi-year, comprehensive strategy from the U.S. Secretary of State to combat illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere.
“Advancing this bipartisan bill is an important step towards developing a strategy to cut off a key source of funding for bad actors in the Western Hemisphere,” said Senator Rosen. “Cartels illicitly mine and traffick gold to fund their criminal activities, and collaboration between the State Department, partner governments, and the private sector can help us combat this and improve security and stability in our region.”
Senator Rosen has been a leader in pushing back against illicit actors in the Western Hemisphere and supporting Nevada’s growing critical mineral industry. Her bipartisan No Hezbollah In Our Hemisphere Act, which advanced through committee, would direct the U.S. Department of State and other federal agencies to assess and counter Hezbollah’s influence in Latin America. Earlier this year, she also introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen American STEM education and build a workforce pipeline to support our growing domestic critical mineral mining industry through the creation of a mining Fulbright exchange program. Senator Rosen helped secure a provision in the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to grow the next generation of mining engineers, promote the use of critical minerals, and develop a secure and reliable supply chain.
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