Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on four bills including H.R. 5259 (Rep. Ryan Zinke), the Certainty for States and Tribes Act.  The bill will reestablish the Department of the Interior’s Royalty Policy Committee. H.R. 5259 passed by a vote of 22-13. 

“With the Obama Administration’s moratorium on all new federal coal leases, it is important now more than ever to give states and tribes a seat at the table. I applaud Rep. Zinke for introducing this commonsense bill to create a more transparent and cooperative process for royalty management issues,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) said. 

Western states and tribes are disproportionately impacted by land management decisions due to the fact that they are comprised of mostly federal land. Revenues from energy production on federal lands provide the necessary funding for public education, infrastructure projects and other essential government services.

“The Obama Administration has unilaterally stripped Montana’s and the Crow Tribe’s voices from the conversation about how we can mine and use our own clean coal resources,” Zinke (R-MT) stated. “After working with my colleagues in the House and Senate as well as local stake holders in tribal and local government, it became clear that the only way to ensure they have a seat at the table is through Congressional action. It’s a shame I even had to introduce this bill and that Congress has to codify the ability for the American people to weigh in on our own livelihoods."

The bill also includes a provision that the Obama Administration’s controversial Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on federal coal leasing must be completed in three years.