U.S. House to consider resolution to overturn Minnesota mining ban following Rules Committee approval
Jan 21, 2026 08:46AM ● By Content Editor
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - January 21, 2026
January 22, 2026, update: U.S. House passes resolution to overturn northern Minnesota mining ban
On January 20, the House Committee on Rules voted 8–3 to report a procedural rule, H. Res. 1009, to the House of Representatives, which sets specific conditions in place before a vote on H.J. Res. 140 can take place. H.J. Res. 140 is a resolution, introduced by Representative Pete Stauber, that would cancel the current 20-year ban on mineral leasing in the Superior National Forest in Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties, set by the Biden administration in January 2023. H. Res. 1009 is not a vote to send H.J. Res 140 to the Senate; instead, it approves the conditions of H. Res. 1009, which needs to happen before the House can vote on H.J. Res. 140 and send that resolution to the Senate.
Current daily schedules show that a debate and a vote on H. Res. 1009 are scheduled to begin as soon as today, January 21. If H. Res. 1009 passes, the debate and vote on the resolution itself (H.J. Res. 140) are expected to follow. If it passes, H.J. Res. 140 would then move to the Senate.
Conditions of H. Res. 1009
The committee designated H. Res. 1009 under a "closed rule," which means that if the resolution reaches the House floor for a final vote, no additional amendments or changes can be proposed by members of either party. Additionally, the House will hold one hour of general debate, and the minority party is granted one "motion to recommit," a final procedural opportunity to send the resolution back to committee before a vote.
Next steps
If the resolution is approved by both chambers and signed by the President, it would immediately void Public Land Order (PLO) 7917, the rule that withdrew 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest from mining eligibility. Another component of the resolution is that under the Congressional Review Act, the Department of the Interior would be legally barred from issuing any "substantially similar" withdrawal in that area in the future without new authorization from Congress.
The resolution, introduced by Representative Pete Stauber, seeks to reopen the region for the extraction of copper, nickel, and other critical minerals. Those in favor of the resolution say that the ban was enacted without proper congressional notification and is therefore illegal, and harms national mineral security. Those against the resolution, such as environmental groups and local advocates, maintain that the ban is needed to protect the water quality and ecosystem of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the risks associated with mining.
