WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearings announced today to discuss their new regulations and he called upon the President and the EPA to schedule a hearing in Kentucky. The EPA hearings will be held in San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Lenexa, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. A hearing will not be held in any of the three largest coal producing states: Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky.
“The Obama Administration is once again showing its contempt for Kentucky’s coal miners and their families. Instead, of the EPA holding a coal hearing in the heart of Coal Country—Kentucky, he has chosen locations such as San Francisco and Washington, D.C. This is like holding a public meeting on ocean policy and having it in Omaha, Nebraska. Instead of avoiding Kentucky, I urge President Obama and the EPA to come to Kentucky, speak directly to those most impacted by the EPA’s regulations and get a first-hand view on how the economy is being brutalized by the Administration’s War on Coal.”
NOTE: In September, Senator McConnell introduced the Saving Coal Jobs Act which streamlines the mine permitting process for new coal mines by putting the EPA on the clock for approving 404 and 402 permit applications that sit idle. Senator McConnell’s measure also prevents additional EPA carbon standards for new and existing plants by requiring Congressional approval. Unfortunately, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blocked this legislation when Senator McConnell called for it to be taken up by the Senate this past month. Senator McConnell will continue to push for passage of this legislation. The McConnell legislation is supported by: the KY Coal Association, the KY Farm Bureau, the KY Association of Manufacturers, the KY League of Cities, the KY Chamber of Commerce, Ashland Alliance, Commerce Lexington, the Northern KY Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Corn Growers Association, the National Mining Association and Americans for Tax Reform.