[House Report 119-185]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-185
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NATIONAL COAL COUNCIL REESTABLISHMENT ACT
_______
July 2, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Guthrie, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 3015]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3015) to reestablish the National Coal Council
in the Department of Energy to provide advice and
recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on matters related
to coal and the coal industry, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Committee Action................................................. 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Oversight Findings and Recommendations........................... 7
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 7
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 7
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 7
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 7
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 7
Related Committee and Subcommittee Hearings...................... 7
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 9
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits....... 9
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 9
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 9
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 9
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 9
Minority Views................................................... 10
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 3015, the ``National Coal Council Reestablishment
Act'', was introduced by Representative Rulli on April 24,
2025, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce on
April 24, 2025. H.R. 3015 re-establishes and codifies the
National Coal Council, which was a federal advisory committee
established in 1984 to provide industry expertise to DOE. The
council provides guidance, reports, and recommendations on
matters affecting the coal industry and the future of coal
technologies.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The United States is blessed with the largest coal reserves
in the world, totaling 469 billion short tons of coal.\1\
Throughout our nation's history, the prosperity and security of
the United States has been inextricably linked to reliable,
affordable, and abundant energy supplies. Coal provides some of
the highest capacity factors for electricity generation and is
a key raw material for efficient steel production.
Historically, coal resources provided the energy supplies
necessary to drive the industrial revolution in the United
States in the 19th and 20th century and helped place the United
States as a geopolitical power on the world stage during and
after World War II.
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\1\Energy Information Administration, ``U.S. Coal Reserves''
(October 2024), https://www.eia.gov/coal/reserves/.
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Today, our nation's energy system remains reliant on coal.
In 2024, 16% of electricity generation in the United States
came from approximately 401 coal-fired power plants.\2\ The
coal industry supports over 100,000 direct jobs and
approximately 324,000 indirect jobs, along with 70,000 jobs in
coal-fired power plants.\3\ On average, these jobs pay over 50%
above the average wage.\4\ Throughout Appalachia, the Midwest,
and Western states, the coal industry is an economic driver for
small and rural communities.
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\2\America's Power, ``Coal Facts'' (2024), https://
americaspower.org/coal-facts/.
\3\National Mining Association, ``Coal: Reliable and Affordable
Power'', https://nma.org/wp-
content/uploads/2023/04/coal_americas_power_2024.pdf.
\4\Ibid.
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Throughout the 119th Congress, the House Energy and
Commerce Committee has held several hearings examining the
ongoing reliability crisis facing our nation, as well as the
historic projected electricity demands that are largely driven
by developments in artificial intelligence, reshoring domestic
manufacturing, and general economy-wide electrification. Expert
witnesses that testified before this committee stated the grave
national and economic security implications for failed
leadership in next generation industries. We also learned of
ongoing supply chain constraints for critical grid components
and infrastructure needed for new generation and transmission
facilities. To meet our growing electricity needs, existing
coal assets must play a critical role to protect reliability
for households and businesses. On May 23, 2025, the Trump
administration utilized authority under 202(c) of the Federal
Power Act to maintain the operation of the J.H. Campbell Coal
Power Plant in Michigan to address potential capacity
shortfalls in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator
(MISO) territory during the peak summer months.\5\
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\5\Department of Energy, ``Federal Power Act Section 202(c)
Midcontinent Independent System Operator'' (May 2025), https://
www.energy.gov/ceser/federal-power-act-section-202c-midcontinent-
independent-system-operator-miso.
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Particularly concerning are the rate of pre-mature
retirements of baseload generating facilities, predominantly
coal fired power plants, at a time where our nation's energy
could outpace available supply. In 2025 alone, 12.3 GW of coal
fired generation plans to retire, a 65% increase over 2024.\6\
Actions of the previous administration, along with aggressive
climate focused regulations from states, are key drivers of
pre-mature closure of coal fired generating units. Under the
Biden administration, federal agencies took aggressive actions
to reduce coal use in the United States. The Environmental
Protection Agency's suite of power plant regulations--New
Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From
New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric
Generating Units; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas
Emissions From Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating
Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule; National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coal- and
Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units; Hazardous
and Solid Waste Management System: Disposal of Coal Combustion
Residuals From Electric Utilities; Legacy CCR Surface
Impoundments; and Supplemental Effluent Limitations Guidelines
and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point
Source Category--took aim at existing and new coal-fired
generating units to render the facilities financially unviable.
The Department of Interior halted new coal leases in the Powder
River Basin in Wyoming and Montana, which accounts for 40% of
the nation's thermal coal production.
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\6\Energy Information Administration, ``Planned retirements of U.S.
coal-fired electric generating capacity to increase in 2025'' (February
2025) https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/
detail.php?id=64604.
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The National Coal Council, established in 1984, is a
federal advisory committee in the Department of Energy that
provides advice and recommendations on general policy matters
relating to the coal industry. Over the course of its 37-year
history, the council provided the federal government with
expertise on matters affecting the coal industry and its
workers, including reports on coal technologies and
innovations, coal marketing and exports, research and
development for advanced coal technologies. Unless otherwise
specified in law, the Federal Advisory Committees Act requires
advisory committees must be rechartered every two years.
Following a lawsuit from environmental groups, the Biden
administration's Department of Energy did not renew the Coal
Council's charter and instead created a new council, the
National Advisory Committee on Coal, that would align with the
administration's climate agenda.\7\ The approach of the Biden
administration abandoned 37 years of work and trusted expertise
from the National Coal Council and diverted the underlying
purpose of supporting the U.S. coal industry. On June 15, 2025,
the Trump administration's Department of Energy re-established
the National Coal Council's charter for an additional two
years. The National Coal Council Reestablishment Act would
codify this action to support the re-charter of the Coal
Council. In addition, the legislation would remove the
requirement for the council to be re-chartered every two years.
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\7\https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/NCC-
Notice-of-Dismissal_5.19.pdf.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
On April 30, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
legislative hearing on 14 pieces of legislation, including H.R.
3015. The Subcommittee received testimony from:
Mike Goff, Acting Undersecretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy;
David L. Morenoff, Acting General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Terry Turpin, Director, Office of Energy
Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Jim Matheson, Chief Executive Officer,
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association;
Amy Andryszak, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America;
Todd A. Snitchler, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Electric Power Supply Association;
and
Kim Smaczniak, Partner, Roselle LLP.
On June 5, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy met in open
markup session and forwarded H.R. 3015, without amendment, to
the full Committee by a record vote of 15 yeas and 13 nays.
On June 25, 2025, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce
met in open markup session and ordered H.R. 3015, without
amendment, favorably reported to the House by a record vote of
25 yeas and 20 nays.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the
record votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The following reflects the record votes taken during
both Subcommittee and Committee consideration:
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII, the Committee held hearings and made findings that
are reflected in this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY,
AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee
finds that H.R. 3015 would result in no new or increased budget
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or
revenues.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, at the time this
report was filed, the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not available.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general
performance goal or objective of this legislation is to codify
the National Coal Council and remove the requirement for the
council to be re-chartered every two years under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act.
DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of
H.R. 3015 is known to be duplicative of another Federal
program, including any program that was included in a report to
Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the
most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
RELATED COMMITTEE AND SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the following
related hearings were used to develop or consider H.R. 3015:
On February 5, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
hearing on H.R. 3015. The title of the hearing was ``Powering
America's Future: Unleashing American Energy.'' The
Subcommittee received testimony from:
Amanda Eversole, Executive Vice President
and Chief Advocacy Officer, American Petroleum
Institute;
Brigham McCown, Senior Fellow and Director,
Initiative on American Energy Security, The Hudson
Institute;
Gary Arnold, Business Manager, Denver
Pipefitters Local 208; and
Tyler O'Connor, Partner, Crowell & Moring
LLP.
On March 5, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing
on H.R. 3015. The title of the hearing was ``Scaling for
Growth: Meeting the Demand for Reliable, Affordable
Electricity.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from:
Todd Brickhouse, CEO and General Manager,
Basin Electric Power Cooperative;
Asim Haque, Senior Vice President for
Governmental and Member Services, PJM;
Noel W. Black, Senior VP of Regulatory
Affairs, Southern Company; and
Tyler H. Norris, James B. Duke Fellow, Duke
University.
On March 25, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
hearing on H.R. 3015. The title of the hearing was ``Keeping
the Lights On: Examining the State of Regional Grid
Reliability.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from:
Gordon van Welie, President and Chief
Executive Officer, ISO New England;
Richard J. Dewey, President and Chief
Executive Officer, New York Independent System
Operator;
Manu Asthana, President and Chief Executive
Officer, PJM Interconnection LLC;
Jennifer Curran, Senior Vice President for
Planning and Operations, Midcontinent ISO;
Lanny Nickell, Chief Operating Officer,
Southwest Power Pool;
Elliot Mainzer, President and Chief
Executive Officer, California Independent System
Operator; and
Pablo Vegas, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.
On April 9, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce held
a hearing on H.R. 3015. The title of the hearing was ``The
Energy Needs for Advancing American Technological Leadership.''
The Committee received testimony from:
Eric Schmidt, Chair, Special Competitive
Studies Project;
Manish Bhatia, Executive Vice President of
Global Operations, Micron Technology;
Alexander Wang, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Scale AI; and
David Turk, Distinguished Visiting Fellow,
Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University.
On April 30, 2025, the Subcommittee on Energy held a
legislative hearing on H.R. 3015. The title of the hearing was
``Assuring Abundant, Reliable American Energy to Power
Innovation.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from:
Mike Goff, Acting Undersecretary of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy;
David L. Morenoff, Acting General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Terry Turpin, Director, Office of Energy
Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
Jim Matheson, Chief Executive Officer,
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association;
Amy Andryszak, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America;
Todd A. Snitchler, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Electric Power Supply Association;
and
Kim Smaczniak, Partner, Roselle LLP.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was
filed, the estimate was not available.
EARMARK, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the
Committee finds that H.R. 3015 contains no earmarks, limited
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
Pursuant to section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, the Committee finds that no new advisory committees were
created by this legislation. However, the Committee finds that
this legislation permanently reestablishes the National Coal
Council within the Department of Energy, in accordance with the
charter for the National Coal Council that was in effect on
November 19, 2021. The Committee does not find that the
functions of the reestablished advisory committee are being or
could be performed by one or more agencies or by an advisory
committee already in existence, or by enlarging the mandate of
an existing advisory committee.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides that the Act may be cited as the
``National Coal Council Reestablishment Act.''
Section 2. National Coal Council
Section 2 directs the Secretary of Energy to reestablish
the National Coal Council in accordance with the charter in
place on November 21, 2021 and removes the requirement for the
National Coal Council to be re-chartered every two years under
the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
This legislation does not amend any existing Federal
statute.
MINORITY VIEWS
H.R. 3015, the National Coal Council Reestablishment Act
H.R. 3015 requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to re-
establish the National Coal Council (NCC), an advisory council
subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. On April 9,
before the bill was introduced, Secretary of Energy Chris
Wright announced that he was taking action to reinstate the
NCC.\1\ On June 18, DOE published a notice in the Federal
Register that the NCC had been reestablished two days prior,
and DOE also transmitted a letter to Chairman Guthrie enclosing
a copy of the NCC's newly-revised charter.\2\ The goal of the
legislation has already been achieved.
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\1\Department of Energy, Energy Department Acts to Unleash American
Coal by Strengthening Coal Technology and Securing Critical Mineral
Supply Chains (Apr. 8, 2025).
\2\Department of Energy, National Coal Council, 90 Fed. Reg. 26045
(June 18, 2025); Letter from David A. Borak to Rep. Brett Guthrie,
Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce (June 16, 2025).
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Domestic consumption of coal has decreased by 64 percent
since its peak in 2007. The vast majority--over 90 percent--of
that decline has been driven by a sharp decrease in the demand
for coal from power plants.\3\ This decrease has been due to a
number of factors, including increased competition from clean
sources of energy and the decrease in the price of natural gas.
It is unclear that the NCC has the power to reverse either of
those trends, and efforts by the Trump Administration to keep
two coal plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania open appear poised
to increase electricity prices.\4\
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\3\Energy Information Administration, Coal Data Browser (Oct.
2024).
\4\Dennis Wamsted and Seth Feaster, Who Will Pay for Forcing the
Campbell Coal Plant to Stay Open, Institute for Energy Economics and
Financial Analysis (June 5, 2025).
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The majority's memo on the legislation indicates that a
significant goal of the legislation--in addition to the
already-accomplished re-establishment of the NCC--is to remove
the requirement that the NCC be re-chartered every two years.
If the majority is interested in abolishing that requirement,
legislation to amend 5 U.S.C. Sec. 1013, which requires that
advisory committees terminate every two years, would be more
appropriate. I am aware of no reason why the NCC should receive
special treatment.
To avoid legislating an outcome that had already happened,
I introduced an amendment at the Committee markup of H.R. 3015
that would have barred the bill from taking effect if DOE had
published a notice in the Federal Register similar to its June
18 notice within a year of the bill's enactment. That amendment
failed on a recorded vote. The majority wishes to enact a piece
of legislation whose primary goal has already been
accomplished.
For the reasons stated above, I oppose this legislation.
Frank Pallone, Jr.,
Ranking Member.
[all]