The grassroots support group, Friends and Families of Coal Miners, based in Boone and Logan counties, hosted its second successful rally this past Tuesday in Putnam County,  Partnering with the Citizens for Coal, Logan Coal Vendors Association, Friends of Coal and The COALition for Romney, the event drew an estimated 100 people to the Old Winfield Courthouse. Attendees heard from a variety of speakers about the Obama War on Coal and its impact on the people of our region.  Several local news affiliates had crews on hand for the event.

The group held an event earlier this month in Madison that drew well over 200 people to the Madison Civic Center and plans additional events in Logan, Lincoln and other counties over the next two months. For more information, check out the groups’ Facebook pages at:

Friends and Families of Coal              http://www.facebook.com/terry.headley1#!/groups/181696321963237/

Citizens for Coal                                   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-for-Coal/302147546536332?ref=hl

Friends of Coal – West Virginia         http://www.facebook.com/friendsofcoal?ref=hl

Logan Coal Vendors Association       http://www.facebook.com/LoganCoalVendorsAssociation?ref=hl

The COALition for Romney                http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-COALition/265299486910146?ref=hl

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012.” The legislation packages five House bills crafted over the two years of the 112th Congress aimed at limiting regulations that affects coal and other industry, four of which were previously passed by the House.
•H.R. 3409, the Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, to prevent the Secretary of the Interior from issuing new regulations that would adversely impact mining jobs;
•H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act, passed in April 2011, would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act;
•H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act, or TRAIN Act, passed in September 2011, would require analysis of the effects of proposed environmental regulations on manufacturing, energy prices and jobs;
•H.R. 2273, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, passed in October 2011, curtailing the EPA's ability to regulate the disposal of coal ash from power plants; and
•H.R. 2018, Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act, passed in July 2011, would limit EPA action with regard to state regulation of water quality.

The legislation previously passed by the Republican-controlled House has been stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate. The bill now moves to the Senate.

This critical legislation is about more than coal mining jobs – it’s about all the jobs created by affordable and reliable electricity generated from coal.  These jobs range from high-tech manufacturing and computing to Main Street hardware and grocery stores that depend upon affordable electricity to keep the power on and the doors open.  H.R. 3409 will ensure that electricity remains affordable for businesses and households.

•Title I– The Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), will protect American jobs and support U.S. energy production by prohibiting the Secretary of the Interior from issuing new rules or regulations that will adversely impact mining jobs and our economy.
◦It is a necessary safeguard in response to the effort by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) to conduct a sweeping rewrite of a coal mining regulation (the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule) that will cost an estimated 270,000 mining related jobs and decrease American energy production.
◦This legislation does not affect any existing OSM regulations, but is simply a time-out to allow OSM to ensure any new regulations are consistent with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). 

Harvard University’s graduates are earning less than those from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology after a decade-long commodity bull market created shortages of workers as well as minerals.

Those leaving the college of 2,300 students this year got paid a median salary of $56,700, according to PayScale Inc., which tracks employee compensation data from surveys. At Harvard, where tuition fees are almost four times higher, they got $54,100. Those scheduled to leave the campus in Rapid City, South Dakota, in May are already getting offers, at a time when about one in 10 recent U.S. college graduates is out of work.

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