Representative Mark Amodei (R-NV) offered an amendment to H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which would weaken standards for mine permitting on public lands and undermine public input and environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. This amendment would eliminate the opportunity for communities to review, comment and raise concerns about potential mines during the permitting process. The amendment would also broadly define what minerals qualify as critical to our national security. On May 23, the House approved the Amodei amendment by a vote of 229-183 (House roll call vote 223). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The House passed H.R. 5515, including the Amodei amendment, on May 24. The H.R. 5515 conference report did not include this harmful language. The president signed the H.R. 5515 conference report into law on August 13.