Statement AI Analysis

Statement AI Summary:

Sen. Daines urges the Senate to pass H.J. Res. 104 to overturn the Biden administrations Miles City Resource Management Plan Amendment that prohibits new coal leasing in eastern Montana, arguing the rollback will restore local input, protect coal jobs and state revenue (including funds for education), and support Montana communities and energy production; he notes broad state and local support and asks colleagues to vote yes.

Statement AI Bias Category on Economy and Jobs:

Right-Leaning

Bias of All Statements by Steve Daines on Economy and Jobs:

Statement AI Categories:

Economy and Jobs, Environment and Climate Change, Energy Policy, Congressional Procedure

Date:

10-07-2025

Pages In PDF Link That Have Statement:

S6967-S6978

Congressional Record PDF:

Actual Statement Made In Congress:

If the member made multiple statements on that day, they were analyzed and accumulated together.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to proceed to my joint resolution to congressionally disapprove and officially roll back President Biden's anti-coal rule in Montana. H.J. Res. 104 is supported by the entire Montana delegation, and I want to thank Congressman Downing and Congressman Zinke for leading this resolution in the House and Senator Sheehy for joining me in the Senate. This resolution is supported by many Montanans, starting with the Governor of Montana, Governor Gianforte; the mayor of Colstrip, MT; the Montana Coal Council; the Montana electric co-ops; Northwestern Energy; local counties; both of the affected coal mines; and many, many more and, I will tell you, many, many more coal miners. I want to explain quickly what we are doing here today. Today, we will take the first step in overturning the Miles City Resource Management Plan Amendment that prohibits--prohibits--any new coal leasing in Eastern Montana. Let me be very clear. This resolution only overturns the anti-coal amendment that was issued by the Biden administration after the last election, in the final days of their term. None of the actions taken today affect the underlying Miles City Resource Management Plan or how the BLM manages recreation, conservation, and other energy developments in the State. Future coal development will be managed under the existing resource management plan, as it had for years before Biden slipped in, at the last hour, this amendment. Now, why is this important to Montana? The Biden amendment prohibits all new coal leasing across all of Eastern Montana. Eastern Montana and Wyoming are home to the Powder River Basin. These are the largest coal reserves in the United States. Many who are watching, when you think about Montana, you think about our amazing fly-fishing streams, our national parks, our beautiful mountains, our wilderness areas, the tremendous hunting and hiking opportunities we provide, but many don't know that Montana has more recoverable coal than any State in the United States. Think about this: The Biden administration prohibited new coal development in America's largest coal reserve. BLM's resource management plans are meant to be a bipartisan process, taking in feedback from people on the ground and implementing the multiple-use mission of the BLM, but, sadly, the Biden administration tried to pull a fast one. They took this process, flipped it on its face, and they disregarded the voices of Montana. Well, I can tell you here this afternoon, the voices of Montana are speaking loudly with the united Montana delegation both here in Washington as well as Montanans back home in the State, and we are going to right that wrong today. We are going to give Montana a voice in the process. Overturning this partisan rule will grow Montana energy jobs and help our rural communities. In fact, according to the Montana Coal Council, coal supports nearly 900 high-paying jobs in Montana and has provided $2.7 billion in Federal, State, private, and Tribal royalties. In a letter from Montana's Governor Greg Gianforte, he states that this Biden rule ``amounts to a loss of $4.3 billion in future revenue to the State trust land beneficiaries, which includes K-12 public education.'' This is a monumental moment for the State of Montana. I am thrilled this is being considered today on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and I urge my colleagues to support Montana jobs, Montana communities, reliable and low-cost energy, and to vote yes on today's motion.

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