Nick Rahall: “Thank you, Mr. Barr. I appreciate very much your giving this Special Order for a discussion of America's most plentiful…”

“Thank you, Mr. Barr. I appreciate very much your giving this Special Order for a discussion of America's most plentiful, most economic, efficient domestic energy resource we have, that being coal. {time} 1800 I also come from the great State of West Virginia, a State that is proud of its heritage of mining coal--proud of its coal miners, number one, those individuals who go beneath the bowels of the Earth to extract the energy that has fueled the industrial revolution in this country. They are brave, courageous individuals. Every one of us is concerned every day about their safety, number one, their health, and their retirement benefits for themselves and their families. Yes, coal is a valuable natural resource, but our number one natural resource is the coal miner, himself or herself. So we thank them for what they do. They are courageous individuals. My district is both surface and deep mined. We can do both in a very environmentally sane manner, a manner which produces jobs for our people, produces energy for our country, and at the same time does restore our environment and make it a beautiful place in which to work. That's why we in West Virginia pride ourselves on our clean environment, our productive workforce, and our high worker morale because we can do all-of-the-above at the same time. And we are for all-of-the-above as far as our energy resources as long as all-of-the-above means our domestic production of resources for energy in this country.…”