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House Republicans Push New Coal Bills, but Critics Say the Industry’s Decline Can’t Be Reversed
Bills a subcommittee considered this week would streamline the approval of new coal leases and exempt some coal projects from environmental reviews.
By Carl David Goette-Luciak
President Donald Trump has made reviving the coal industry a political and policy priority in his second term, swimming against the current of a domestic—and international—market that’s increasingly turned away from the fuel source. A Wednesday hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, on two bills aiming to bolster the U.S. coal industry, showcased the debate around the use of federal lands, the nation’s energy future and the fate of the world’s oldest fossil fuel.