{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=331C9323-752D-47A4-AB3D-A622FBC96294", "Biden Admin. Radical Climate Agenda Still Hammering Kentucky", "2023-12-06", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Democrats\u2019 \u2018War on Coal\u2019:\n\n\u201cFor millions of Americans, expensive heating bills and rolling blackouts are quickly becoming the hallmark of the holiday season under President Biden.\n\n\u201cSo, it came as no small surprise when the Biden Administration\u2019s climate czar, John Kerry, proclaimed this week that no coal plants should be \u2018permitted anywhere in the world.\u2019\n\n\u201cOur former colleague may have bought himself applause from the jet-set crowd assembled at the conference. But his ban on coal would make energy even less reliable and affordable here at home.\n\n\u201cAs my colleague from West Virginia, Senator Capito, pointed out yesterday, many states in Middle America still rely on coal to keep the lights on. Kentucky, West Virginia, Wyoming, Missouri, Utah, North Dakota, Indiana, and Nebraska all use coal to generate over 50 percent of their electricity.\n\n\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s handling of the economy is turning in dismal marks from working Americans. But the climate activists in this Administration continue to wage war on the most affordable forms of American energy they rely on.\n\n\u201cUnfortunately, Middle America is used to footing the bill for Washington\u2019s radical climate agenda. For eight years under President Obama, Kentucky watched the \u2018War on Coal\u2019 kill jobs and cripple communities across Appalachia.\n\n\u201cThese same communities continue to pay dearly under President Biden. Kentucky coal miner employment has never recovered from the Obama-era coal purge.\n\n\u201cHasty plans to phase out fossil fuels only force more miners into early retirement in Kentucky and threaten the livelihood of Middle America.\n\n\u201cAnd the sort of power grid failures we\u2019ve seen in California, Texas, and Kentucky, will become even more common if Democrats\u2019 full-speed-ahead climate strategy continues.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, our top strategic adversary is scaling up coal production. Despite the Biden Administration\u2019s pleading, China continues to forge ahead with new coal projects and resurrect retired plants. Time and again, the President\u2019s climate czar has happily accepted empty climate pledges from our adversaries at the expense of American jobs and job creators.\n\n\u201cSo, Democrats can repeat their tired green energy talking points until the cows come home. But the reality for Americans is all the same: less reliable and more expensive energy this winter.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "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://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=331C9323-752D-47A4-AB3D-A622FBC96294"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.358692068606615, "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"}