Alan Lowenthal : Congressman Lowenthal Praises Interior Dept. Report On US Coal Program

Congressman Alan Lowenthal today issued the following statement on action taken by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management in the release of a comprehensive review of the Nation's federal coal program:

'I applaud Secretary Jewell and the Department of Interior for continuing the pause on federal coal leasing and undertaking a long overdue review of that program. This newly released roadmap for modernizing the federal coal leasing program is timely because our administration policy, until now, has been to unfairly subsidize coal from Federal lands by letting companies mine it for rock-bottom prices. In spite of that assistance from the U.S. Taxpayer, coal production has been declining due to competition with low-priced natural gas as well as less international demand for coal. I urge the incoming Administration to take these recommendations seriously and ensure that any future coal program provides a fair return to taxpayers, accounts for market forces, and most importantly protects the health and safety American families.'