Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee defeated a Republican amendment Tuesday that would have barred the use of federal funds to purchase any critical mineral needed for renewable energy products like electric vehicle (EV) batteries that were mined with forced labor. Introduced on the second day of the panel’s markup of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” spending program, the amendment by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) would make it illegal to import or pay for products made with critical minerals mined by or assembled with forced labor. The most frequently mentioned country during the ensuing debate was China due to its use of forced labor by millions of Muslim Uyghurs in the production of a long list of consumer products exported to the United States. Also frequently mentioned was the Congo, which has most of the world’s cobalt, which is required for batteries used in EVs …