H.R. 1778, a bill to provide that an order by the Secretary of the Interior imposing a moratorium on Federal coal leasing shall not take effect unless a joint resolution of approval is enacted, and for other purposes

H.R. 1778 would require a joint resolution of the Congress to approve any proposal by the Secretary of the Interior to impose a moratorium on coal-leasing activities on federal lands. A moratorium on mineral leasing activities on federal land could delay or reduce receipts collected by the government from permitting those activities.

On January 16, 2016, the Secretary of the Interior issued an order prohibiting the issuance of coal leases or lease modifications on federal lands until the Bureau of Land Management completed a programmatic environmental impact statement under the National Environment Policy Act. On March 29, 2017, the Secretary of the Interior revoked that order.

CBO’s baseline estimate of receipts from mineral leasing activities has no expectation that either the current or a future Administration will propose a moratorium on federal coal-leasing activities. Therefore, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1778 would not affect the federal budget.

Enacting H.R. 1778 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1778 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.

H.R. 1778 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.