" supplementing this bill, i also sent two letters to the department of defense and the department of energy expressing my strong support for advancing america's energy capabilities by domestically mining and refining critical earth minerals such as cobalt. please see the below links for access to these letters. rep. donalds' letter to the department of defense rep. donalds' letter to the department of energy original cosponsors of the cobalt act include: representatives salazar, nehls, feenstra, posey, cawthorn, crawford, baird, rosendale, hern, and mullin. click here to read the bill in its entirety. ### rep. donalds announces run for house gop conference chair naples, fla. - today, representative byron donalds (r-fl) released the following statement announcing his official run for house gop conference chair. "as one of the most prominent voices of the house gop agenda, i'm the best candidate to lead an effective communications strategy should republicans take back the house. 