The House on Friday passed the Stop the War on Coal Act on a 233-175 vote.
The bill included four measures previously passed by the House and was billed by House Republicans as a show of support for coal jobs in Appalachian states and for low-cost coal-fired electricity.
The House Natural Resources Committee issued a report Thursday attacking the Obama administration's rewriting of an Interior Department rule on coal mining. The report also calls for more transparent rulemaking.
House Republicans are poised Friday to pass one final bill before the November elections that would reverse President Barack Obama's environmental agenda, even as Democrats derided the effort as a political ploy.
Lawmakers from both parties sparred late Thursday during initial debate on the Stop the War on Coal Act, with Republicans assailing Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency.
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio join colleagues and coal miners to call for passage of the Stop the War on Coal Act bill.
Former Al Gore adviser Maurice Daniel is leading a new group that is targeting swing states with the message that reining in regulatory overreach will strengthen domestic mining and manufacturing, The Hill reports.
A House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee on Thursday will debate legislation that would block carbon emissions standards for power plants until federal officials declare that carbon storage technology is economically feasible, The Hill reports.
The White House late Wednesday issued a veto threat against the "war on coal" legislation that House Republicans plan to pass by Friday, arguing the bill would roll back environmental laws and harm public health.
The veto threat increases the partisan friction surrounding a largely symbolic vote by the House GOP to showcase their opposition to President Barack Obama's agenda to rein in pollution from coal mining and coal-fired power plants.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — When 400 Appalachian coal miners learned their lives were turning upside-down with the sudden shutdown of mines in three states, Trent Lucas got relatively good news: He'll still have a job.
The 34-year-old Alpha Natural Resources miner from Wise, Va., will transfer from the now-idled Guest Mountain No. 9 to the Osaka mine, but it's still only a 45-minute commute. His best friend, a mine supervisor, wasn't so lucky. He's among the 150 people for whom Alpha says it has no other positions.
Hoping to get back on message, Republican Mitt Romney is using the latest layoffs in the coal industry to launch a new attack on President Barack Obama's environment and regulatory agenda.
While the GOP candidate tried to get past controversial remarks he made about government-dependent Americans in a secretly recorded videotape, his campaign unleashed two televisions ads in key swing states accusing the Obama administration of conducting a "war on coal."
MARIKANA, South Africa (AP) — Lonmin platinum miners celebrated a wage deal Wednesday that ended a deadly strike, but labor unrest at a different mine took a violent turn when police broke up what they called an illegal gathering near the town of Rustenburg.
"Police asked them to disperse and when they wouldn't, police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd," said Gauteng province police spokesman Dennis Adriao. "We've said from the start that we would not tolerate illegal gatherings."
The House approved a bill that would protect electric utilities from environmental fines and lawsuits if the Energy Department orders them to keep power flowing, FuelFix reports.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet to discuss safe development of shale gas and hear testimony from government and industry officials today, The Hill reports.
Activists and environmentalists launched criticisms against the Environmental Defense Fund for its decision to join industry groups to help develop hydraulic fracturing standards, Bloomberg reports.
Some industry leaders are concerned that shifting opinions and increased legislative action on hydraulic fracturing could hinder their chances to develop Colorado's energy resources, Bloomberg reports.
Dominion Resources Inc. told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week that it had removed all nuclear fuel from the reactor at the shuttered Kewaunee Nuclear Plant, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.
A Colorado bill to establish a renewable energy mandate for cooperatives has faced a lawsuit and an advertising campaign over whether the bill would incentivize state renewable energy, The Gazette reports.
