Earlier this week, House Natural Resources Committee Vice Chairman Cynthia Lummis (WY-at large) joined U.S. Representative Paul Cook (CA-08) and other colleagues on the committee to pass a suite of bills that includes three legislative wins for Wyoming, a statement from Lummis’s office states.
H.R. 1992: the American Soda Ash Competitiveness Act will prevent an increase of the soda ash royalty rate to 6 percent at the end of this fiscal year. Instead, the bill lowers the rate to 2 percent for five years to help level the playing field between Wyoming and other American soda ash producers who must compete with synthetic, state-subsidized soda ash produced in China. The soda industry directly employs over two thousand workers in Wyoming, in addition to supporting thousands of jobs in the transportation, port, and manufacturing sectors.
H.R. 2358: the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act will streamline and improve management of electricity rights-of-way on federal lands, which are crucial to power delivery but threatened by beetle killed trees and other hazards. This bill will enhance the reliability of the electrical grid in Wyoming, reduce the threat of wildfire, and protect ratepayers.
H.R. 2647: the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 expedites the National Environmental Policy Act to improve forest management activities. This will ensure forest health and resilience by efficiently managing fire-prone forested lands. The bill bolsters what we know works to prevent catastrophic wildfire through proactive management of forests and encouraging state and local collaboration on management projects. It also cuts unnecessary red tape and takes a measured step to prevent unproductive litigation that has held up responsible and environmentally sound projects on our federal forests.
“I am pleased we have passed out of committee these bipartisan bills critical to Wyoming, her forests, and her working families, and the next stop is the House floor,” said Rep. Lummis. “Two of these bills will improve what has been poor federal management of our forests and the energy transmission corridors over federal lands that help keep the lights on in Wyoming. I was particularly pleased to work with Representative Cook on the soda ash bill to keep Wyoming’s soda ash industry globally competitive. This is a jobs bill, ensuring Wyoming’s workers and natural soda ash feed global demand instead of the state-subsidized, artificial soda ash synthesized in China.”
“I’m glad to see my bill was passed out of committee with strong support,” said Rep. Cook. “This is an important bill that will protect a vital industry, grow jobs, and do this with little impact to the federal budget. This $1.8 billion industry within the U.S., employs over 3,000 workers directly, 700 of which are in my district. Additionally, it provides around 20,000 indirect jobs. I appreciate the support of my colleagues on this vital issue, particularly Vice-Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who joined me in sponsoring this bill.”