Political Quotes

“I rise today to talk about something very dear to me and to so many of my fellow Wyomingites, particularly those in Gillette, WY, where I used to be the mayor. It is the third largest town in Wyoming. It has 30,000 people. That would be a very small town to the rest of the Nation, but here is an effect it is having. This administration has made no secret about its continuous efforts to whittle away at America's coal industry. Well, very sadly, 2 weeks ago those efforts resulted in unprecedented layoffs, as two of Wyoming's biggest coal mines let go of 15 percent of their workforce. My wife and I were heartbroken to see these 456 miners suddenly out of work. Besides the mines, there are railroad layoffs because that is how Wyoming coal is delivered to the other 40 States in the Nation. Outside of Gillette, there are 130 coal engines parked, not to mention trains. That means 1,200 railroad workers are out of jobs. Today, Peabody coal announced that they are filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. We will see more of that. I know the suffering of the 456 people and the 1,200 railroad people suddenly out of work may not sound so bad in places such as California or New York, but in Wyoming, whole communities feel that kind of impact. Folks I talked to in Wyoming are depressed and angry, and it is because the energy industries they support and rely upon have for too long been the target of bad Federal policies.…”