Committee advances Crow Revenue Act after contentious debate over Bull Mountain mine exchange and tribal revenue guarantees

The House Natural Resources Committee advanced H.R. 725, the Crow Revenue Act, after adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute that its sponsors said preserves tribal sovereignty and increases public access to lands.

Representative Hurd described the bill as a measure "about tribal sovereignty, energy security, and public access," saying it would authorize a land exchange between the Crow Tribe and the Hope Family Trust and set up a revenue‑sharing agreement tied to development of the mineral estate. Hurd said the exchange would return ownership of "approximately 4,600 acres" to the Crow Tribe within the Crow Reservation and convey roughly 4,500 acres of federal subsurface interest to the Hope Family Trust, enabling access to areas above the Bull Mountain Mine, Montana's only underground coal mine.

Ranking Member Huffman strongly opposed the bill and said it would "mandate approval of the Bull Mountains coal mine" owned by Signal Peak in Montana. Huffman described the mine's history, noting previous court rulings that struck down environmental impact statements (EISs) for inadequate review and asserting that Signal Peak "only recently got off probation with the Department of Justice for labor and environmental violations." Huffman warned the bill does not guarantee revenue for the Crow Tribe because any land swap depends on the private coal company choosing to relinquish a lease it recently obtained through an emergency permitting process.

Hurd and other supporters said the amendment in the nature of a substitute facilitates voluntary transactions between willing parties and tribes, consolidates tribal lands, and provides public‑access acreage that had been inaccessible. Chair Westerman read into the record a letter from Frank White Clay, chairman of the Crow Nation, expressing the tribe's "unwavering and unequivocal support" for the bill and urging members to approve it.

Representative Ansari's amendment, offered in the name of the ranking member of the energy and mineral subcommittee and described by proponents as a fix to a "glaring loophole," would have directed revenue that otherwise would have gone to the federal treasury directly to the Crow Tribe, improved mitigation and reclamation plans, and ensured Musselshell County received revenue. That amendment was defeated on a recorded vote; proponents said it would ensure revenue for the tribe and stronger mitigation standards, while opponents said it would undercut the negotiated land‑based settlement and tribal self‑determination.

Supporters argued the ANS preserves negotiated tribal and local agreements and advances tribal economic development. Opponents said the bill risks rewarding a company with a troubled compliance history and that because the transaction depends on the company's cooperation, revenue for the tribe is not guaranteed.

The committee adopted the Hurd amendment in the nature of a substitute and ordered the bill reported to the House with a recorded final vote of 27 yeas and 16 nays.