Dissenting Views on the Stop the War on Coal Act
House Natural Resources Committee Minority Position
We oppose H.R. 3409 because it is so broadly drafted that it could have the effect of preventing the Interior Department from issuing almost any rulemaking dealing with coal mining, including regulations that are necessary to ensure States can properly carry out their programs, regulations that would ensure that mining operations are safe and that public health and American taxpayers are protected, and even regulations beneficial to the mining industry. The intent of H.R. 3409 appears to be to prevent the Interior Department from revising a [George W.] Bush Administration midnight regulation that significantly weakened protections on the destructive practice of…
