Congressman Pete Stauber, R-Duluth, praised actions Tuesday, Dec. 17, by the Trump administration that he said strips harmful anti-mining, anti-jobs language from the Interior appropriations package.
“In northern Minnesota, mining is a way of life. Unfortunately, the livelihoods of my constituents and the needs of this nation were completely disregarded as an attempt was made to include anti-mining language in the Interior appropriations package,” Stauber stated in a news release. “This damaging language would have halted mining in northern Minnesota for the next twenty years and robbed our communities of economic prosperity. Fortunately, with the help of the White House, Republican leadership and Congressman Emmer, we were able to prevent this harmful provision from reaching the House Floor.”
“Northern Minnesota is not a playground for Twin Cities and Coastal elites to spend their weekends, but a place where thousands of us work, recreate and raise our families,” Stauber stated in the release. “Our local economy and rural schools depend on the ability to responsibly develop our God-given resources and in doing so, we are also ensuring that these resources upon which we all rely are developed with the strongest labor and environmental standards in the world.
“I will always stand up for our economic drivers and work to bring high-paying jobs to our hardworking miners, union members and their families,” Stauber concluded in the release. “We deserve good-paying jobs too. I am deeply thankful to President Trump for standing side by side with us and supporting our way of life.”
According to the release, the anti-mining language Stauber prevented from reaching the House floor would have halted union labor. Twin Metals Minnesota signed a project labor agreement with leaders from local unions.
