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House officially strips Wyoming of AML money

Efforts by Wyoming Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis to restore federal money slated for Wyoming have failed.

The Republican led U-S House ignored the pleas of Lummis and approved an effort to take 700 million dollars in Abandoned Mine Land Money away from Wyoming over the next decade.   Lummis is furious with the move.

“I tried calling the chairman of the House Appropriations committee; Governor Mead tried calling the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.  They would not take our calls.  And then once the bill was already filed, they informed us that Wyoming was indeed left out.  This is a shocking way to run government and to treat your friends.”

The money comes from taxes paid by coal producers and is supposed to be split between states and the federal government.  Wyoming contributes more than any other state.  But the U-S House ignored pleas from Lummis and voted to remove 700 million dollars of Wyoming’s A-M-L money for the next decade to use for other programs.  Wyoming is the only state to lose its A-M-L money. 

“I’ve never been this disillusioned by our own government, because I’ve never seen them cannibalize from their own people.”

Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi will try and get the funding restored in the U-S Senate.  Wyoming has used the money for a number of building projects.

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