McConnell Pushes Measure to Stop EPA from Destroying Kentucky Coal Jobs; Senate Democrats Object
May 7, 2014
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor Wednesday to push for legislation on behalf of Kentucky coal miners and their families, but his attempt was immediately blocked by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on behalf of Senate Democrats, who control the majority in the Senate.
Senator McConnell called on Senate Majority Leader Reid to take up a measure he introduced along with Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and John Hoeven (R-ND) to stop the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from moving forward with its anti-coal jobs carbon regulations. Their amendment would halt the Administration from moving forward with new regulations on coal-fired power plants — until the technology required to comply with the regulations is commercially viable — which it currently is not.
Senator McConnell said, “the Obama Administration’s extreme regulations would hammer existing coal facilities too, taking the ax to even more American coal jobs in the midst of an awful economy. These coal regulations are especially unfair to the people of my state. We know they would hit Kentuckians who are already suffering – constituents of mine who just want to put food on the table and feed their families. Congress needs to do something to help them, and that’s why we’re offering this amendment today. I would remind my colleagues that the amendment we’re offering is almost identical to legislation authored by the Democrat Senior Senator from West Virginia that already passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis. So there’s no excuse not to pass it here. And we hope the Senior Senator from West Virginia and his Democrat colleagues will stand with us to do just that.”
On the Senate floor, McConnell pushed for his measure to protect coal jobs in Kentucky, but was blocked by Senator Reid on behalf of Senate Democrats.
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