On the recordNovember 30, 2015
I thank the gentleman for his passion--as others have shared--on this very, very important issue. You and I live in a region of the country where we have to look into the eyes of those coal miners every single day. Oftentimes, the media talks about the coal industry as this abstract industry, that it doesn't really have an identity. But it does. It is the heartbeat of our country. Look at where we were even 10 years ago, with the majority of the energy across America provided by the coal industry. In Ohio, at that time, in excess of 70 percent of our energy came from coal. Coal has provided the innovative engine for America's prosperity for generations--and for us to turn our backs on it. One of the things that is so shocking that I think the American people would like to know more about right now, today, almost $2 trillion--$1.8 trillion, to be exact--comes out of our economy every year in the form of government regulations. I heard a report not too long ago that new Federal regulations are coming out on the average of about 10 per day. It is a cancer that is growing, and the EPA is one of the worst, with no rhyme, no reason, little consideration, and total disregard for the lives that their rulemaking impacts.
