Congress quietly subsidizes coal and gas mining with methane tax credits

What it does

This bill creates a federal tax credit for companies that capture methane from mining operations and either inject it into pipelines for energy use or burn it for heat/electricity. The credit applies to methane captured from underground, abandoned, or surface mines starting in 2025, and requires facilities to capture at least 2,500 metric tons of CO2-equivalent methane annually to qualify. The tax incentive is modeled on existing carbon-capture credits but specifically targets the mining industry.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a federal tax credit for methane capture equipment at mining facilities. While framed as climate action, the primary effect is to reduce the after-tax cost of methane-management infrastructure for coal, oil, and gas operators, making it functionally a targeted industry subsidy.

What the text implies

• The credit incentivizes mining companies to invest in methane capture infrastructure rather than reduce mining activity, potentially extending the economic viability of marginal coal and coal-bed methane operations.
• By allowing methane to be 'used for producing heat' or injected into pipelines, the bill may subsidize continued fossil-fuel consumption and pipeline expansion under the guise of emissions reduction.
• The 2,500 metric-ton annual threshold is low enough to capture small and mid-sized mining operations, broadening the subsidy base and increasing total federal revenue loss.
• No requirement for additionality (i.e., that the capture would not happen without the credit) means the government may pay for methane management that operators would undertake anyway for operational or regulatory reasons.

Who it affects

The bill reduces atmospheric methane (a potent greenhouse gas), which benefits public health and climate goals. However, the primary beneficiaries are mining companies receiving federal tax credits with no requirement to pass savings to consumers or workers, and the credit structure may incentivize continued fossil-fuel infrastructure investment rather than transition away from mining.

Who stands to gain

• coal mining companies
• natural gas producers
• coal-bed methane operators
• methane capture equipment manufacturers
• pipeline operators

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Code Section 45Q, Section 45Z (CO2e definition), Title 49 CFR Section 192 (pipeline integrity), Mining facilities (underground, abandoned, surface), Energy generation equipment

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 8 Republicans, 2 Democrats.

• Mar 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 5, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

6 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $760,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 2 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 82% of bills with at least one filing.

Carol Miller, the sponsor, reported $1,295,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Cnx Resources Corporation — $390,000 on 2 filings
• Peabody Energy — $110,000 on 2 filings
• Johnson Matthey Inc. — $100,000 on 1 filing
• Cnx Resources Corporation — $80,000 on 1 filing
• Johnson Matthey, Inc. — $60,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.