Coal industry gets formal advisory seat at energy policy table
S. 3335 — National Coal Council Act of 2025 · Filed by John Hoeven (R-ND) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 3, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Department of Energy to reestablish the National Coal Council, a federal advisory committee that provides recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on coal industry matters. The council will operate under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, meaning it must follow standard transparency and conflict-of-interest rules for federal advisory bodies.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to create a formal advisory channel for the coal industry within the Department of Energy. While framed neutrally as 'reestablishment,' the effect is to institutionalize coal-sector input into federal energy policy.
What the text implies
- The council's charter (filed June 16, 2025) is not reproduced in the bill text; its actual composition, voting rules, and scope of influence remain opaque to readers of this statute alone.
- Reestablishment suggests the council previously existed and was dissolved; the bill does not explain why or when, leaving the policy reversal context unclear.
- FACA transparency rules apply, but the bill exempts section 1013 of title 5 (which governs termination of advisory committees), potentially insulating the council from easy dissolution if political winds shift.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a formal advisory body that gives the coal industry direct input into federal energy policy, which may slow or complicate clean energy transitions and climate-aligned policy. However, the Federal Advisory Committee Act requirements (transparency, conflict-of-interest rules, public meeting access) provide some democratic accountability and prevent purely closed-door industry capture.
Who stands to gain
- coal mining companies
- coal-fired power utilities
- coal transportation and logistics firms
Named in the bill
Department of Energy, National Coal Council, Secretary of Energy, Federal Advisory Committee Act, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 7 Republicans.
- Dec 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Dec 3, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (526 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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