{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://evanjenkins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-jenkins-testimony-today-s-epa-hearing-charleston", "REP. JENKINS TESTIMONY AT TODAYS EPA HEARING IN CHARLESTON", "2017-11-28", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "WV", "Evan Jenkins", "J000297", "evanjenkins.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) submitted testimony for the record at today\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency public hearing in Charleston on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan.\n\u201cI have spoken with the president and the administration about the importance of West Virginia\u2019s coal miners and how the Clean Power Plan, as well as many of the other Obama administration\u2019s regulations, were strangling the economy. At every step, I have fought against burdensome regulations, worked with President Trump, and stood with West Virginia\u2019s coal miners,\u201d Rep. Jenkins said.\nHe also said that the House Natural Resources Committee will be marking up his bill on Wednesday, the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act.\n\u201cI introduced this bill, which would prohibit the use of social cost of greenhouse gases in the federal rulemaking process unless the agencies adhere to OMB guidance. This controversial metric was abused by the former administration to wage their war on coal. The Clean Power Plan was justified largely by using the social cost of carbon,\u201d Rep. Jenkins said.\nRep. Jenkins was unable to attend in person due to votes in Washington today, but his district director, Michael Chirico, read the testimony on his behalf.\nThe congressman\u2019s testimony as prepared for the record is below:\n\u201cI am giving this testimony on behalf of Congressman Evan Jenkins, who couldn\u2019t be here because he is in D.C. for votes scheduled for today.\n\u201cWest Virginia\u2019s future is bright, the economy is growing at a fast pace and the energy regulations that have crippled our state are being repealed. The Clean Power Plan repeal will continue to fuel a resurgence of West Virginia\u2019s economy, which has been growing at 3 percent in 2017, the second fastest in the United States.\n\u201cThe eight years before President Trump took office, the war on coal decimated an entire industry, a way of life in West Virginia. Ten thousand coal jobs were lost here over the last five years because of the war on coal. But this is changing thanks to President Trump and Administrator Pruitt.\n\u201cI proudly stand with the Trump administration and Administrator Pruitt in repealing and eliminating burdensome and job-killing regulations.\n\u201cI fully support the repeal of the Clean Power Plan and have been working to eliminate this regulation for years. The Clean Power Plan was one of the key regulations in Obama\u2019s war on coal. It would have caused thousands of men and women to lose their good paying jobs and would have caused double-digit increases in electricity costs. This is unacceptable for a state that relies on the low-cost energy that coal provides.\n\u201cSince the day I took office, I fought back against the Obama administration\u2019s overreaching energy policies. I joined with 34 senators and 171 representatives to send an amicus brief that supported overturning the Clean Power Plan on the grounds that the EPA acted illegally in moving the regulation.\n\u201cAs a member of the Appropriations Committee, I secured policy riders that halted job-killing coal regulations. I ensured that Congress rejected the Obama administration\u2019s request for increased funding for more EPA regulators and led the charge to cut the EPA\u2019s budget by hundreds of millions of dollars.\n\u201cI was also proud to sponsor and cosponsor a number of bills that worked to stop the war on coal. I sponsored legislation which became law that blocked the implementation of the Obama stream buffer zone rule, saving one-third of all coal jobs. I also cosponsored and voted on legislation that would have stopped the Clean Power Plan from going forward.\n\u201cThis week the House Natural Resources Committee will be marking up the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act. I introduced this bill, which would prohibit the use of social cost of greenhouse gases in the federal rulemaking process unless the agencies adhere to OMB guidance. This controversial metric was abused by the former administration to wage their war on coal. The Clean Power Plan was justified largely by using the social cost of carbon.\n\u201cThis government overreach is over. I have spoken with the president and the administration about the importance of West Virginia\u2019s coal miners and how the Clean Power Plan, as well as many of the other Obama administration\u2019s regulations, were strangling the economy. At every step, I have fought against burdensome regulations, worked with President Trump, and stood with West Virginia\u2019s coal miners.\n\u201cI fully support a speedy repeal of the Clean Power Plan, giving West Virginia hope for a future of economic prosperity.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://evanjenkins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-jenkins-testimony-today-s-epa-hearing-charleston"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8635739795863628, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}