WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Congressman Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, introduced House Resolution 3015, which would reestablish the National Coal Council within the Department of Energy.

The National Coal Council, first established in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan, was tasked to assist government and industry in determining ways to improve cooperation in the areas of coal research, production, transportation, marketing and use.

In November 2021, the Biden Administration allowed the council’s charter to lapse. Rulli emphasized that the lapse was not an accident but part of a deliberate effort to weaken America’s traditional energy sector.

“The National Coal Council had been a vital voice for coal for decades. Its elimination was yet another example of a national push by Democrats with their radical Green New Deal policies to dismantle the American energy industry at any cost. They want to do away with coal — and this is just one more thing they’re trying to take away from American workers and communities,” said Rulli.

With global coal use on the rise — particularly in China, where coal consumption is seven to eight times greater than in the United States — Rulli stressed the importance of maintaining a strong coal advisory body to guide energy policy and emissions improvements.

“You have to understand the global impact. Coal use is expanding worldwide, and the NCC was critical in helping us responsibly manage coal’s future, including improving emissions technologies. With energy consumption in the United States set to grow at a rapid pace in the coming years, coal must remain part of an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy. We must ensure that our energy grid has a reliable source of fuel, and historically that has always been coal. Simply doing away with it does not solve environmental challenges — it only weakens our position,” Rulli continued.

“We need to stand up, fight for coal’s future, and ensure our energy policies are guided by innovation and common sense — not political ideology. We can’t keep killing jobs and hollowing out regions like ours in Eastern Ohio, and others across the nation.”