Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (June 22, 2016) – Today President Obama released a report from the White House ironically titled, “The Economics of Coal Leasing on Federal Lands: Ensuring a Fair Return to Taxpayers”. The irony being that this President and his Administration have been dead set on keeping coal in the ground from the very beginning. Regulation after regulation has deliberately crushed the demand for coal and then, in an attempt to finish the industry off, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced a moratorium on federal coal leasing in January of this year.

The latest strategy is to hide these attacks under a smokescreen of “ensuring a fair return for the taxpayer”. The problem is that the Administration’s past policies and today’s proposal to raise royalty rates on coal (up to a 300% increase) clearly demonstrate that their only goal is to shut down production of coal on public lands. A 300% increase in royalty rates on $0.00 in coal sales is a zero return for the American taxpayer on their resources.

The truth is that under current royalty rates $12 billion in 2014 and $10.5 billion in 2015 were collected in royalty payments. In addition to the dollar value to the states and federal government, coal provides high-paying jobs and also ensures American families have access to affordable and reliable energy. President Obama and his Administration are playing a dangerous game with America’s most abundant energy resource that will ultimately heap costs on our economy and American families.

For seeking to keep coal in the ground under the misleading guise of “getting a fair return for the taxpayer,” we give President Obama and his report four full bulls:

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