West Virginia’s Congressional delegation, U. S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, along with Rep. David McKinley and representatives of Congressman Evan Jenkins (Mike Chirico) and Congressman Alex Mooney (Fred Joseph) and WV State Senate President Bill Cole met Friday with the members of the board of directors and government affairs committee of the West Virginia Coal Association. Each of the guests were briefed on the current, critical status of the state’s coal industry and the ongoing downturn brought on by the actions of the Obama Administration and its agencies.
Using 2008 as the benchmark year (before Obama), considerable discussion centered on the dramatic declines in production, employment and the number of operating mines in West Virginia.
“We wanted to be sure our delegation understands the terrific damage that is and has been done by this federal Administration, their policies and the actions of their agencies, particularly EPA. The effects will be long-lasting,” said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association.
Our Congressional members were united in saying they are concerned about the reliability and stability of the electric grid in the wake of myriad EPA actions and the forced implementation of the CPP. And they are also concerned about the cost to ratepayers and the overall cost to the economy.