MARIETTA, Ohio -- With the overarching importance of electric vehicles in infrastructure legislation that passed the Senate and is pending in the U.S. House, the game has changed. The measure being brokered by Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio sets the stage for zero-emission vehicles to make up half of all new passenger vehicles sold by 2030. But U.S. auto manufacturers do not have access to the vast mineral resources required to rapidly scale up the manufacture of EV batteries. The U.S. government has to take the lead.