Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2824, the Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Act. This critical piece of legislation, which was introduced by Representative Bill Johnson and myself, is designed to save taxpayer dollars and protect American jobs by putting the Office of Surface Mining on a responsible path forward for managing and regulating coal mining in America. So far, the Obama administration has spent nearly 10 million taxpayer dollars rewriting a coal production rule and the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule, but the 2008 rule was never fully implemented. The administration is conducting this rewrite without ever providing justification for the need for a new rule. The $10 million does not include the money spent on attorneys fees and costly litigation or the internal costs borne by the agency. Even more critically, it does not include the costs to the families of the thousands of workers who have been displaced or seen work delayed by the regulatory inaction of the Department. The legislation before us today is very simple. It would cripple the Obama administration's war on coal by ending their unnecessary rewrite and it would require the Office of Surface Mining to implement the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. This rule was developed over 5 years through an open, public, multimillion-dollar process and requires consultation on endangered species where necessary. Under this legislation, H.R.…”