Inhofe Statement on DOI's Decision to Halt Coal Leasing on Federal Lands

Statement

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the following statement today after the Department of the Interior announced that they would stop new coal leasing on federal lands:

"The Obama administration has been trying to kill the American coal mining industry since its first days in office, when it announced plans to rewrite the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone rule. The new moratorium on federal coal leases announced by the Secretary of the Interior is just the latest example of the president's radical international climate agenda taking precedence over American energy security and good-paying jobs. It is clear that the Interior Department is trying to finish the job that the EPA has started with its Clean Power Plan by squeezing the supply of coal and by extension the coal-fired power plants that provide affordable and reliable electricity. It is important that Congress continue to shine a light of the Obama administration's hostility toward coal before the lights get turned off on the American economy. Furthermore, the Stream Buffer Zone rule is long overdue for oversight and I look forward to the Senate EPW Committee bringing this issue to light at a hearing next month."

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