FEDERALhearing transcript

Senate Hearing on Common Varieties Act Amendments (1966)

Original title: Common varieties act amendments: hearing before the Subcommittee on Minerals, Materials, and Fuels of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States Senate, Eighty-ninth Congress, second session, on S. 2281 and S. 3485, bills to amend section 3 of the act of July 23, 1955 (69 STAT. 367, 368), June 28, 1966.

July 20, 2026

mining public lands natural resources legislation

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing addressed the legal classification of mineral deposits on public lands, which determines whether those materials can be claimed under mining laws or must be purchased from the government.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Mining industry operators

The proposed amendments would change the legal requirements for claiming or purchasing mineral materials from federal lands.

Federal land management agencies

These agencies are responsible for enforcing the classification and disposal rules for mineral materials on public lands.

What changed

Last recorded activity July 20, 2026.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This document is a transcript of a 1966 Senate subcommittee hearing regarding proposed amendments to the Act of 1955. The hearing focused on two specific bills, S. 2281 and S. 3485, which sought to modify how certain mineral materials are classified and managed on federal lands.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on June 28, 1966, during the 89th Congress.
The purpose was to review proposed amendments to Section 3 of the Common Varieties Act of 1955.
The specific bills under consideration were S. 2281 and S. 3485.
The 1955 Act (69 Stat. 367, 368) governs the disposal of 'common varieties' of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders, and clay on public lands.
The hearing was conducted by the Subcommittee on Minerals, Materials, and Fuels.

Why It Matters

The hearing addressed the legal classification of mineral deposits on public lands, which determines whether those materials can be claimed under mining laws or must be purchased from the government.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Common Varieties Act?

It is a 1955 law that regulates how common mineral materials like sand, gravel, and stone are extracted from federal public lands.

What were S. 2281 and S. 3485 trying to do?

These bills proposed changes to the existing legal framework for how these mineral materials are classified and disposed of by the federal government.

News Coverage

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift80% confidence

Refinement of 1955 Mining Law

The hearing indicates an ongoing legislative effort to clarify the distinction between 'common' and 'valuable' mineral deposits on public lands.

S. 2281 S. 3485

Connected Entities

organizationCommittee on Interior and Insular Affairs“The parent committee of the subcommittee.”Map →

organizationSubcommittee on Minerals, Materials, and Fuels“The Senate subcommittee that conducted the hearing.”Map →

otherAct of July 23, 1955“The original legislation being amended by the proposed bills.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz5
Current news / social attention level

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