The pandemic revealed America’s concerning dependence on foreign adversaries for items we used to — and should —produce in the U.S.

Our nation’s food supply depends on imported fertilizer foreign adversaries such as Russia. America’s health care system is reliant upon pharmaceuticals, protective equipment, and technology produced overseas. Our energy supply chains are dependent on imported aluminum and other metals.

And — most importantly — our military could not function without imported tungsten, cobalt, and other rare earth elements.

For example, every F-35 strike fighter built for our armed forces contains 920 pounds of rare earth materials — the majority of which we import from China. The Department of Defense needs rare earth magnets to build computer screens and hard drives for aircraft and ships. Those same cobalt-based elements are used for stealth technology, F-22 tail fins, laser targeting systems, missile guidance and control motors. The list could go on and on.

Cobalt and many of the rare earth elements that are listed by U.S. Geological Survey as “critical minerals” are maxed out at 100% imports to the U.S. That means our domestic production of those minerals is zero.

Where are we getting our imports? Mostly from Russia, China, and their surrogates around the world. We’re importing these materials from one country waging brutal and unprovoked war on one of our allies and another country with a human rights abuse record that’s too…