Andy Barr: “I was recently visiting with my constituents in Nicholas County, Kentucky, when I learned about the latest casualty in…”

“I was recently visiting with my constituents in Nicholas County, Kentucky, when I learned about the latest casualty in the Obama administration's war on coal. Joy Global, a manufacturer of underground mining equipment, operates a plant in neighboring Bourbon County. The news had just broken that Joy Global plans to cease all operations and manufacturing at that plant. The story of Joy Global is timely in light of President Obama's nomination of Gina McCarthy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. I wish those who are responsible for the war on coal could have been with me that Friday morning. It's easy to sit in Washington and issue regulations when you don't have to confront the human cost. The Obama administration's war on coal cost more than 3,000 well- paying coal miner jobs in Kentucky last year. Thousands of families potentially went from healthy incomes to food stamps. But this administration doesn't appear to care. The coal industry supports 19,000 full-time jobs in Kentucky while providing our State with the Nation's fourth lowest utility rates. Mr. Speaker, it's time the administration put people ahead of its radical agenda. ____________________”