I am finding that the VA does not always have or offer good alternatives.

The first newspaper I got when I got back there was, dark day for miners. They just announced that 2,268 coalmining jobs were lost.

I am supportive of targeting funds to unserved areas, and, you know, that is important.

The Lifeline Program, originally created in 1985, can and should be a targeted means of providing subsidies to those who are truly in need of assistance, but, first, we must address the rampant waste, fraud and abuse that made the program…

So if you are sitting in the kitchen with this 55-year-old that just lost his job, he has been working 30 years in a coalmine, what do you tell him?

We have been given the runaround. I have never seen so many fingers pointing in different directions.

This is going to be an incredible hindrance for these hospitals to provide medical care in rural areas of West Virginia.

Just in 3 years. Three years 45 percent of our coalminers are looking for work.

In the last week, during the break, I returned to West Virginia and was on overload of negative information coming at us in West Virginia.

So my first question of two questions would be to the coal industry to reverse this decline?

if you don't have the infrastructure Lifeline is maybe nice in theory but meaningless in practice.

There is no support. I hear no support.

I hear more people complaining about people using these funds for illicit purposes versus legitimate purposes.

Even though FERC has said that--and they have testified before us--the concern that they have is that we are going to have rolling blackouts in the Midwest if we don't start replacing these power plants.

Well, but keep in mind too, Mr. Secretary, you know that coalminers average age is going to be in their 50s.

Remember, a third of the hospitals could very well go under if they have to make these payments.

I hope you understand, this kind of smacks of bullying on the part of CMS to rural hospitals.

we look at Europe and we see how some policies over there in which countries like Germany have made decisions to eliminate nuclear energy, has created low wholesale prices, extremely high retail prices, and as a result, Europe has some…