FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A Senate vote Thursday would restore mining industry access to government-owned coal in the most productive U.S. region, a policy reversal from President Joe Biden that is likely to get President Donald Trump's signature.

The bill for the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming, source of about 40% of the nation's coal, is one of a handful promoting fossil fuels in the Republican-majority Congress. Others seek to open up parts of Alaska , Montana and North Dakota to more drilling and mining.

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In the waning months of Biden's presidency, the Interior Department halted federal coal sales to Powder River Basin mines, citing climate change and declining demand from utilities for coal to burn in their power plants. Dozens of coal-fired plants

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