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Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2824 - Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America

March 05, 2014


STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)

(Rep. Johnson, R-Ohio, and 5 cosponsors)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 2824, which would misdirect limited resources and limit State discretion in regulating industries within their borders. The bill requires State surface coal mining regulatory agencies to implement the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule for a mandatory implementation period, which inadequately protects drinking water and watersheds from strip mining. H.R. 2824 limits a State's ability to tailor stream safeguards or maintain currently adopted standards, creates needless regulatory and legal uncertainty, and requires States to waste significant taxpayer dollars adopting a rule that has been vacated by a Federal court.

The Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is developing a proposed Stream Protection Rule that provides for responsible development while protecting our communities and environment. Updates in the proposed rule will reflect the significant technological and scientific advances in mining practices that avoid, minimize, and mitigate environmental damage from coal mining. H.R. 2824 does not adequately address the community, environmental, and health impacts of strip mining. It further undermines efforts to better support public health and revenue generation along with jobs in the Nation's coal-producing regions.

If the President were presented with H.R. 2824, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.

Barack Obama, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2824 - Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/306081

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