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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement following President Trump signing executive orders relating to coal mining and coal powered electricity production:
“It was a really good day for American energy. These executive orders that President Trump signed today reflect not just a temporary reprieve in the war against coal, but really a revolutionary break from the Biden administration’s pessimistic philosophy of scarcity. This shift toward a brighter future for energy abundance really does solidify President Trump’s promise to pursue energy dominance by ensuring that coal, which is of course our nation’s most abundant energy resource, remains available to help keep the lights on, and we know how important that is. North Dakota’s lignite coal industry gives consumers the lowest average electric rates in the country, and has for decades, but it faced a very uncertain future under the failed policies of the Biden administration. This action today really restores sanity to our national energy policy by elevating the importance of domestic energy production to a power manufacturing renaissance and it ensures that affordable, reliable electricity is available for many generations.”
During the Biden administration, Cramer highlighted how its regulatory actions against coal would lead to disastrous consequences. He introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Clean Power Plan 2.0 rule and celebrated the agency’s announcement to roll it back on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Deregulation Day, when the EPA announced 31 actions intended to revitalize the American energy industry. He also publicized attempts by President Obama’s Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, to bar coal leasing on federal lands. This moratorium is expressly terminated by today’s actions.