Republicans in Congress have voted to overturn a Biden administration rule that closed off new federal coal leases in the Powder River Basin of eastern Montana.

Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced an amendment to the resource management plan for its Miles City field office. That amendment said no new leases would be issued on about 1.7 million acres of land deemed to have potential for coal development. It would have left only the existing Rosebud and Spring Creek coal mines active.

At the time, leaders cited concerns about climate change and predictions that demand for coal would continue to decline in the coming years.

(Watch the video for more on Congress' action to reverse the BLM decision.)

After the BLMs decision, Montana officials said the move threatened job

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