Likely helped
- No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
H.R. 280 (119th)Bill Overview
COAL Act of 2025
Energy|CoalEnergy
Sponsor
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Jan 9, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does
<p><strong>Combating Obstruction Against Leasing Act of 2025 or the COAL Act of 2025</strong></p><p>This bill requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to process certain applications to lease coal mineral estates owned by the federal government in order to develop coal.</p><p>If the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 has commenced for an application, then the BLM must publish a draft environmental assessment and any applicable implementing regulations, finalize the fair market value of the coal tract for which a lease by application is pending, take all intermediate actions necessary to grant the application, and grant the application.</p><p>With respect to previously awarded coal leases, the BLM must grant any additional approvals required for mining activities to commence.</p><p>Finally, the bill nullifies the Department of the Interior's Secretarial Order 3338, which placed a hold on most new federal coal leases until the BLM completes a comprehensive review of the federal coal program.</p>
Why people may split
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Watch point
The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
<p><strong>Combating Obstruction Against Leasing Act of 2025 or the COAL Act of 2025</strong></p><p>This bill requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to process certain applications to lease coal mineral estates owned by the federal government in order to develop coal.</p><p>If the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 has commenced for an application, then the BLM must publish a draft environmental assessment and any applicable implementing regulations, finalize the fair market value of the coal tract for which a lease by application is pending, take all intermediate actions necessary to grant the application, and grant the application.</p><p>With respect to previously awarded coal leases, the BLM must grant any additional approvals required for mining activities to commence.</p><p>Finally, the bill nullifies the Department of the Interior's Secretarial Order 3338, which placed a hold on most new federal coal leases until the BLM completes a comprehensive review of the federal coal program.</p>
Passage38/100
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
CredibilityPartial
How solid the drafting looks.
Contention62/100
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
02 · What it does
Who stands to gain, and who may push back.
Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Likely burdened
- No clear downsides surfaced yet.
03 · Why people split
Why the argument around this bill splits.
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Centrist—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Conservative—
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
04 · Can it pass?
The path through Congress.
Introduced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Committee
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Floor
Still ahead
President
Still ahead
Law
Still ahead
Passage likelihood38/100
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
Why this could stall
- The next hurdle is converting committee movement into a floor coalition.
05 · Recent votes
Recent votes on the bill.
No vote history yet
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
06 · Go deeper
Go deeper than the headline read.
Included on this page
The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
This bill has moved beyond introduction, but committee and floor dynamics still determine whether it can build durable support.
Unlocked analysis
Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for COAL Act of 2025.
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.
Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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