Dear editor:
HR1, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (BBB), recently passed by the US House of Representatives truly lives up to its name for Wyoming's coal industry.
Coal remains a vital economic driver for the state, supporting good paying jobs while providing for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to state and local governments.
When signed by President Trump (hopefully this summer), the BBB will indeed be a game changer for Wyoming's coal industry.
Through the tremendous efforts of Rep. Harriett Hageman, the bill includes a royalty rate reduction for federal coal from 12.5% to 7%.
This will allow Wyoming coal producers to re-invest in the longevity of their operations as well as in the communities they serve, instead of sending hundreds of millions of dollars back to Washington DC.
This alone will have an immediate impact by right sizing the tax burden on federal coal relative to current realities, while at the same time making Wyoming coal more competitive in energy markets.
This isn't the only major win in the BBB for our Wyoming. The House legislation also includes a rollback of the Biden Administration BLM’s resource management plan (RMP) decision for "no new coal leasing" in the Powder River Basin.
This ill-conceived RMP would have put an end date on our coal communities with a decision made not with facts, but rather radical ideology from the last Administration’s political appointees.
As the BBB heads to the Senate, the Wyoming Mining Association is confident that Sens. Barrasso and Lummis will continue to push these priorities across the line for Wyoming coal and ultimately get the legislation to President Trump's desk.
Our Wyoming delegation continues to lead in Washington to bring Wyoming values to a city that desperately needs them.
The Wyoming mining industry thanks Sens. Barrasso and Lummis, and Rep. Hageman for all they do for not only our state, but the thousands of Wyoming men and women on the job every day providing the energy and raw materials that power America and our way of life.
Sincerely,
Travis Deti, Executive Director
Wyoming Mining Association
