Stauber’s Bill to End Biden’s Mining Ban in Minnesota Passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 140, a Congressional Review Act resolution introduced by Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) to repeal the Biden Administration's illegal 20-year mining ban on 225,504 acres in Northern Minnesota's Superior National Forest.

"I'm thrilled the House has passed H.J. Res. 140 to repeal Biden's illegal mining ban that directly threatened our way of life," said Congressman Pete Stauber. "Growing up in the Northland, I've seen firsthand how these radical policies kill jobs and hurt families. This win allows for important proposed hardrock mining and helium projects to move forward in the state and federal permitting processes. The Iron Range mined the iron ore that helped this nation win two World Wars and I am confident we'll responsibly mine the critical minerals that will allow us to compete and win in the 21st Century."

The resolution does not approve any specific projects. It removes the ban, allowing proposed developments to proceed through the world's strictest state and federal regulatory and permitting processes.

"Reversing Biden’s mining ban will protect Northern Minnesota jobs, strengthen national security through domestic production, and prevent future overreaches from happening again,” Congressman Stauber added. “I look forward to swift action in the Senate to send this resolution to President Trump’s desk."

Background: In January 2023, the Department of the Interior, at the direction of former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, issued Public Land Order (PLO) 7917, instituting a 20-year mineral withdrawal covering 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest in Northern Minnesota. This mineral withdrawal banned mining and other responsible resource extraction in a strategically significant area of the Duluth Complex, which is the largest untapped copper-nickel deposit in the world. Under the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Department of the Interior is required to notify Congress of public land orders impacting an excess of 5,000 acres. The Biden Administration failed to properly transmit PLO 7917 to Congress in January 2023. Earlier this month, the Trump Administration corrected this error and properly transmitted PLO 7917 to Congress.

Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Congress has the authority to review and disapprove of federal actions within 60 Senate session days of the action’s submission to Congress. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval addressing a federal action is passed by both chambers and signed by the President, it is nullified and ceases to have effect (or is treated as never having taken effect). Additionally, under the CRA’s substantially similar provision, when a federal action is successfully disapproved of by Congress, the executive branch is prohibited from taking a substantially similar action in the future.

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