WASHINGTON, July 30 (UPI) -- As the 119th Congress wraps up its final sessions before the August recess, senators turned their attention Wednesday to securing U.S. access to critical minerals in Africa, an increasingly urgent priority amid global competition. "The economy, the energy transition and even the defense supply chains depend on the Chinese Communist Party. The United States relies heavily on China to refine critical minerals, even those that originate in Africa," Chairman Ted Cruz ,