A dramatic marathon weekend session in the U.S. Senate elevated coal as a high priority among lawmakers who hammered out amendments to President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Republican senators successfully turned the tables on Biden administration efforts to promote green energy through wind and solar projects.
"We are slashing President Biden's Green New Deal spending and promoting an America First energy policy,” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, declared on the Senate floor. “We are eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars of the Green New Deal subsidies, including ending wasteful credits like the EV tax credit.
“We stop penalizing fossil fuels in favor of unreliable and expensive green energy, and instead support consistent energy sources, making energy affordable again.”
Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis backed up Crapo’s pitch for amending the legislation with pro-coal provisions, telling Cowboy State Daily that Biden’s “assault on American energy is finished.”
“The Biden administration aggressively targeted Wyoming's coal miners and waged war on America's coal industry, deliberately destroying jobs and communities,” said Lummis. “Wyoming coal is a vital natural resource that is clean, affordable, and reliable. As our country works to regain our energy independence and provide reliable baseload power, coal will continue to be key.
“Reducing the coal royalty rate will lower the cost of energy for consumers, and incentivize higher rates of coal production and investments, and keep Wyoming coal jobs safe.”
In response to the recent amendments, Sen. John Barrasso compared the moment to “taking the handcuffs off our energy workers and energy producers.”
“Our bill includes language to revive coal leasing in Wyoming and across America,” Barrasso told Cowboy State Daily. “We expand the federal coal leasing program and make it easier and less expensive to mine this vital, American energy resource. This will help ensure Wyoming coal remains a major source of power for our nation now and far into the future.”
Amendment Debate
Critics of the sweeping changes to the bill argue wind and solar power bring costs down for utility ratepayers, but those sentiments didn’t slow the Senate’s pro-coal legislative maneuvering.
The amended One Big Beautiful Bill Act now contains several provisions that aggressively support the coal industry through both regulatory relief and financial incentives.
According to the bill text, "Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall make available for lease known recoverable coal resources of not less than 4,000,000 additional acres on Federal land located in the 48 contiguous States and Alaska."
How many of those acres will be in Wyoming is to be determined, though the state's coal industry stands to benefit from the legislation's provisions.
“We’ve been following the Big Beautiful Bill for quite a while now,” Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told Cowboy State Daily. “We’ve been working with the Wyoming congressional delegation to get some of our priorities in there. And President Trump has been very clear on this.
“This is good news,” added Deti, emphasizing the leasing reforms and tax cut for coal producers.
The bill text shows federal coal royalty rates would be slashed from 12.5% to 8%. The legislation also includes provisions for streamlined permitting for coal mining on federal lands and limiting environmental review timelines to 12 months.
Additional coal-friendly provisions in the bill include expedited leasing for tracts with "known recoverable coal resources," with priority given to U.S.-owned companies, and the expansion of advanced manufacturing tax credits to include coal mining and processing facilities that supply domestic energy or manufacturing.
Targeting Renewables
While boosting coal, the bill simultaneously targets renewable energy projects with new financial penalties, establishing new fees for renewable energy projects on federal land.
"Somebody tucked into the bill a brand new tax break for coal. So here we are, 2025, and the Senate is about to pass a bill that taxes wind and solar while subsidizing coal," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, during weekend floor debate.
The Oregon Democrat continued his criticism, stating: "We've got an actual massacre on our hands. This Republican plan actually taxes wind and solar, a new tax on the cheapest and easiest way to get a new energy to the grid. At the same time, somebody tucked into the bill a brand new tax break for coal.”
Coal's Return
Trump strongly endorsed the coal provisions during a Sunday interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo," promoting his administration's commitment to reviving the American coal industry.
"We're doing coal. Coal is coming back,” Trump said. “The people want coal. We have plenty of it, and we're going to use it. We need energy independence and jobs for Americans. Coal is part of that.”
When asked about renewables like solar and wind, Trump responded: "Look, solar is fine, but these solar projects are ugly as hell. They take up too much land. I've seen them; they're not pretty. We need to be smart about where we put them. But coal — coal is reliable, and we're bringing it back."
The bill includes sweeping rescissions of climate and clean energy funding, according to the legislative text. These cuts eliminate programs ranging from greenhouse gas reduction initiatives to environmental justice block grants, totaling what Republicans describe as hundreds of billions of dollars in Green New Deal spending.
"This is the worst piece of legislation for the planet in the history of our country, and it's not even close,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “Republicans are effectively codifying Big Oil's wish lists into law, without exception. They are killing clean energy. They are subsidizing coal. They are dramatically expanding oil and gas leasing.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
