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Proposed Changes To Mining Law In 2016


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You may well be right to lack confidence about the continued existence of the small miners Steve. Congress doesn't pay much attention to the detail when budget deals are being made. Something as seemingly small as the few million dollars brought in by eliminating the small miners could be wagered in a larger deal.

Luckily this BLM budget wish list has not, and probably never will, make it into the budget deliberations. This is just the the BLM submission to the DOI pile of proposals that, if they survive, are then passed on to the President for consideration as part of the executive budget proposal that is then passed to the congressional budget committee for consideration for inclusion in the actual budget that is then negotiated and voted on by the two houses of Congress.

By my count that's five steps to get to a vote. The first step is what we are discussing here. The DOI might pass the proposal to the President if it's not going to PO someone in the party looking to be elected as President. The President might pass it on to Congress if it hasn't already been negotiated away as part of another deal. The budget committee might consider the proposal (or whats left of it) but usually everyone ignores the budget proposals of a lame duck President.

And that is why this proposal never makes it to the budget vote. This year might be different but with jockeying for position for the elections and a lame duck executive the odds are slim.

I don't doubt that there are many factions that think changing the mining law would give them an advantage. I doubt that could come directly from the BLM wish list. Any change is going to come from another direction, this is just the red herring thrown out there for decades.

I do wish miners were more educated about the law making process. Concentrating on the executive is looking 180 degrees the wrong direction. Congress makes law - not  the President. A good example is the Defense Appropriations Bill. This is where the annual mining claims fees were raised two years ago. Those Defense Appropriations only have a two year lifetime. Miners could have been lobbying Congress to make sure the fees were not renewed in this past years bill. Instead they are concentrating on a BLM wish list that historically isn't given serious consideration.

Just one man's opinion.

Barry

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