Andy Barr: “I want to thank the gentleman, my colleague and friend, from West Virginia for his leadership in the Congressional Coal…”

“I want to thank the gentleman, my colleague and friend, from West Virginia for his leadership in the Congressional Coal Caucus, to my colleagues from Pennsylvania and Ohio, and all over the country representing coal-producing States where good people--men and women--working in the coal mines literally power America. They come from an industry--they work in the coal mines; they support the coal miners--an industry that provides affordable and reliable energy that powers the American economy and has been the backbone of the American economy. Instead of celebrating that industry, instead of applauding the heroic work that these men and women do, day in and day out, underground and above ground, what is the response of the Federal Government over the last 6 years? It has been to singularly punish this industry. I can't think of an administration from either party in the history of the United States that has singled out a single industry with the level of vindictiveness, frankly, and targeted a single industry and literally bankrupted many of these companies. I don't understand it for a variety of reasons, but let me just share with you a little bit about the coal industry in Kentucky. We could very well be the poster child for demonstrating the tremendous negative impact and the consequences of this heartless, aggressive, anticoal policy from the EPA and from this administration's regulatory policy.…”