Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of Congressman Johnson's amendment to cut $2 million from the Office of Surface Mining regulatory and technology budget and transfer those funds to the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. This amendment will cut funding for an office that has launched an all-out war on coal in my home State of West Virginia. The Office of Surface Mining's stream protection rule is intentionally designed to shut down all surface mining and a significant section of underground mining in the Appalachian region. {time} 1515 A 2012 study found the rewrite of the stream protection rule is estimated to cost nearly 80,000 direct coal-related jobs. The coal industry is vital to West Virginia and my district. Coal supports over 90 percent of the power generation in my State. It is crucial that we cut the funding for the Office of Surface Mining before they can do any more damage. I thank my colleague for offering this amendment and urge its passage.”