The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment, invited Principal Aaron Goldberg (Washington, DC, and Austin, Texas) to testify at its June 24, 2026 hearing, “Trash to Treasure: Examining Legislation to Support Domestic Critical Mineral Recovery and Recycling.” 

Testifying in his personal capacity, Aaron will discuss how the nation’s hazardous waste regulatory program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) creates significant obstacles to recovering critical minerals from lithium-ion batteries used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, utility-scale battery energy storage systems, and countless other products.  He will also provide insights on drafted legislation under consideration by the Subcommittee that is intended to address some of the most important of these obstacles.

Having focused on hazardous waste regulatory issues under RCRA and its state and international counterparts since the beginning of the federal regulatory program in 1980, Aaron is uniquely qualified to address these issues.  He started his career as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the early development of the RCRA rules, building on his undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry, extensive training in economics, and, later, his law degree. Before joining B&D, he also worked in the White House Office of Management and Budget on environmental and other issues. 

At B&D, Aaron represents companies across the lithium battery supply chain, including manufacturers of batteries and battery-containing products, distributors and retailers, large users of batteries, collectors of used batteries, recyclers, and developers of innovative battery chemistries.

Livestream the hearing at 10:15 EDT on June 24 by clicking here.