Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Kentucky and my neighbor across the river. Mr. Speaker, the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan rule is a dagger aimed at the heart of the coal industry and affordable, American-made energy. According to recent studies, the regulation will increase electric costs in my home State of Illinois by 27 percent. That is an unbearable burden on working families, seniors, and those people who are on set incomes. On top of that, Mr. Speaker, the mining industry employs thousands of workers in southern Illinois and supports thousands more in union retirees. I have heard here today on this floor that it doesn't affect jobs. Well, tell that to the people of my district who have watched the coal mines close and who have watched the suffering. These people don't have the opportunity to keep their children working near their own homes. They have to move away. Mr. Speaker, if this regulation takes effect, the local coal mines that are left and coal generation plants will close down. Our priority must be affordable energy and American jobs. For this reason, I ask, I beg, and I plead: Vote for S.J. Res. 24.”