A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday, proposing the creation of a $2.5 billion critical minerals reserve in the United States. The reserve would be a move to encourage mining and refining domestically as the U.S. looks to break China’s near-total monopoly in critical minerals and rare earths supply, refining, and pricing. The bill says that China has moved to “weaponize its influence over prices and volumes in the contest for access to critical minerals,” and asserts that the goal is…