Heitkamp: Ex-Im Bank bill backing coal plants has strong chance of passing

WASHINGTON - A Democratic supporter of a Senate bill to save the U.S. Export-Import Bank and overturn limits on bank financing of coal-fired power plants overseas defended the legislation on Saturday after the White House said it wanted to keep coal plant restrictions.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said the bill she has co-sponsored had a strong chance of passing the Senate before the mandate for the Ex-Im Bank, which provides support for U.S. exporters and the buyers of U.S. goods, expires on June 30.
On Friday, the White House said it was strongly committed to reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank but wanted to keep restrictions adopted in 2013 on public financing for coal-fired power plant projects, part of its effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Lawmakers from coal-producing states like Heitkamp of North Dakota have fought the move. North Dakota’s four mines have produced an average of 30 million tons of lignite coal annually since 1988. The Freedom Mine near Beulah, which is owned by Coteau Properties Co., is the largest lignite coal mine in the country and produces more than 15 million ton each year.
The White House declined to comment specifically on the energy provision included in the Ex-Im bill, which was introduced on Thursday and co-sponsored by four Republicans and four Democrats, including Heitkamp.