"The least that we can do here at home is to support our own responsible production from States like Alaska, so that we have our supply--our own supply-and can provide a diversified commercial alternative. Moving from oil and gas briefly here, Alaska is also ready to help in another increasingly crucial area and that is with mineral development. Our history of tectonic events has created a geological environment that fosters deposits of a wide variety of minerals that are critical to both our current and our future economies. Back in 2018, the Department of the Interior designated 35 "critical" minerals based on their importance to our economy and security, as well as their susceptibility to supply and disruption. These minerals are essential for everything. They help us with our advanced missile systems, solar panels, batteries for electric vehicles, your cell phones--everything. Our military is certainly aware of this. They recognize the vulnerable position that we are in. Our manufacturers recognize the vulnerability. These are products that we use on a daily basis."