The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on May 17 advanced two bills offered by U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) that support mining in Minnesota and would overturn the Biden administration’s withdrawal of 225,000 acres from mining activity.
“All options are on the table to overturn the Biden administration’s mineral withdrawal and let miners mine in the district I represent,” Rep. Stauber said following the committee’s markup. “I have been working with my colleagues to build support for these proposals, including through hosting a field hearing on the Iron Range earlier this month, and I’m glad to see prompt movement through the Natural Resources Committee.”
The Superior National Forest Restoration Act, H.R. 3195, and House Concurrent Resolution 34 now head to the full U.S. House of Representatives for action.
If enacted, H.R. 3195 would rescind Public Land Order 7917 to reinstate mineral leases and permits in the Superior National Forest, and ensure timely review of Mine Plans of Operations, according to the text of the bill.
Rep. Stauber sponsored H.R. 3195 on May 10 with 12 GOP original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Tom Emmer (R-MN).
H.R. 3195, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by a roll call vote of 21-17 by the Natural Resources Committee.
H. Res. 34, which Rep. Stauber sponsored on April 25, would express disapproval of the withdrawal by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior of roughly 225,504 acres of National Forest System lands in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, Minn., from disposition under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing laws.
The resolution was approved by the committee in a 17-15 vote.
“I am thankful for the growing support on this issue, not only with my colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee, but in Congress as a whole,” said Rep. Stauber. “More and more of us know that our mining way of life is at stake, and today we are one step closer to getting shovels in the ground to create jobs, secure our domestic supply chains and reestablish American mineral security.”