{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fcd8eca9-0d21-4c00-a3fb-3f09ffbbacac", "McConnell Shines Light on Kentuckians\u2019 Coal Jobs Concerns", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused to host a \u201clistening session\u201d in coal country, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell held a pro-coal listening session of his own in Pikeville, Kentucky on December 6th. Yesterday, every comment and testimony from the hearing was delivered to the EPA. Senator McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the powerful testimony and comments he heard from Kentuckians:\r\n\u201cI rise today to give voice to the people of eastern Kentucky who are hurting due to this administration\u2019s War on Coal. Recently, I traveled to Pikeville, Kentucky, to hear first-hand from coal miners, their families, those in the energy industry, and others about how their communities are being ravaged by the EPA\u2019s excessive, overly burdensome regulations on coal.\r\n\u201cThe EPA did not want to listen to these folks, so I did. I held this listening session to put a human face on the suffering that is being felt in Appalachia due in large part to this administration\u2019s War on Coal. I want to share with my colleagues just a little of what I heard.\r\n\u201cBehind me is a picture of Howard Abshire. Howard is a former production foreman and a fourth-generation coal miner. Sitting in the audience during his testimony was Howard\u2019s son, Griffin, a fifth-generation coal miner.\r\n\u201cBoth Howard and Griffin are out of work. Two of the over 5,000 Kentucky jobs lost in the War on Coal were theirs.\r\n\u201cHoward is holding up a piece of coal to show us just what\u2019s at stake\u2014coal mining is what the EPA wants to stamp out, but coal is also the powerful substance that powers our homes, provides light and heat, and fuels the commerce of goods and services worldwide.\r\n\u201c\u2018This is coal,\u2019 he said when he held that piece up. \u2018This keeps the lights on.\u2019\r\n\u201cHoward is only one of many coal miners laid off for lack of coal mining work. \u2018Look in our schools. Look in our nursing homes. Look in our pharmacies. We\u2019re hurting,\u2019 he said. \u2018We need help. We don\u2019t want to be bailed out. We want to work.\u2019\r\n\u201cSeated next to Howard is Jimmy Rose, a veteran and former coal miner. Jimmy was perhaps the most famous attendee at the listening session because he brought attention to the War on Coal to a national television audience on \u2018America\u2019s Got Talent.\u2019 His song \u2018Coal Keeps the Lights On\u2019 spoke directly to the hardship in his community largely caused by the War on Coal.\r\n\u201c\u2018It\u2019s in our heritage, it\u2019s in our blood,\u2019 Jimmy said. Addressing the administration, Jimmy said: \u2018Look at what you\u2019re doing, and who you\u2019re affecting\u2026Coal mining is a way of life, just like I say in the song. Don\u2019t kill our way of life. I hope one day I can always say coal kept the lights on.\u2019\r\n\u201cI also heard from Monty Boyd, the owner of Whayne Supply Company and Walker Machinery, a mining and construction equipment distributor that serves Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, and Ohio. The companies employ 1,900 people and operate 25 store locations.\r\n\u201cWhayne Supply this year celebrated 100 years of operations. Yet, this is what Monty had to say:\r\n\u2018At a time when I should be excited about our future, I am full of concern and uncertainty because our future outlook is bleak due to the regulatory ambush on the coal industry by the EPA.\u2019\r\n\u201cHe went on to say,\r\n\u2018Coal in Kentucky is more than just mining. It is the driving force that keeps our energy rates affordable, keeps our manufacturing sector competitive, and is the economic life blood of eastern Kentucky.\u2019\r\n\u2018I am disheartened to continually see the federal government and the EPA take such an anti-business stance that destroys an industry that is vital to our regional economy. The federal government appears to be choosing the winners and losers in regard to the energy sector of America.\u2019\r\n\u201cThose are strong words from someone with a good perspective on Kentucky\u2019s coal industry. I also heard from Anita Miller, a manager of safety for Apollo Fuels in Middlesboro. She has worked in the industry for more than 15 years. She had this to say:\r\n\u2018My son walked earlier than my daughter\u2026every time she would try to stand up, he would either knock her down, or put his hand on her head so she couldn\u2019t stand. This is what is happening to the coal industry.\u2019\r\n\u201cAnita went on to say:\r\n\u2018Every time we try to stand up for ourselves, someone either knocks or holds us down\u2026You can\u2019t really buy anything or make plans for the future, because you don\u2019t know what the future holds.\u2019\r\n\u2018My wish is that the people who are trying so hard to destroy the coal industry would just stop for a minute and think about the hot showers they take, the lights they turn on, and that first hot cup of coffee in the morning, and remember that it came from electricity powered by coal.\u2019\r\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t agree more with what Anita says. It is apparently too easy for EPA bureaucrats in Washington to make decisions that have a huge impact on the people of eastern Kentucky, without thinking of the consequences. And, I might add, without bothering to meet face-to-face with the people they hurt.\r\n\u201cThe EPA scheduled listening sessions for its new regulations only in cities far away from coal country, both geographically and philosophically\u2014cities including New York, Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco. They held 11 listening sessions in all, but the closest one to eastern Kentucky was in Atlanta, requiring Kentuckians to make a 14-hour round trip drive to attend.\r\n\u201cClearly, the EPA did not want real input.\r\n\u201cThat is why I convened the listening session in Pikeville that resulted in the powerful testimony I\u2019ve shared with my colleagues today. Since the EPA would not come to Kentucky, I\u2019ve brought the voices of Kentuckians to the EPA.\r\n\u201cWe held three panels, composed of those in the coal industry, miners and their families, and local elected officials to illuminate the disruption in these communities caused in large part by the War on Coal.\r\n\u201cMany of my constituents filled out comment cards also, and my office delivered them yesterday to the EPA along with the hearing testimony.\r\n\u201cI want to leave my colleagues with the comments of one Kentuckian, Justine Bradford, who is a retired teacher in Pikeville. Here is what she wrote:\r\n\u2018Dear EPA, will you please tell Santa Claus all we want for Christmas this year is to be able to work. Here in eastern Kentucky, we too are real people. Please help us find a job! Come and work in our shoes.\u2019\r\n\u201cThe people of eastern Kentucky believe in coal, and with good reason. The abundance of coal in America, and in Kentucky in particular, is a God-given resource. For decades it has powered our factories, transported our goods, and warmed our homes.\r\n\u201cYes, the blessings of coal come with the responsibility to use it in an environmentally friendly way. But they also come with the responsibility to see that hard-working Kentuckians who rely on coal for an honest day\u2019s work and steady pay are given every chance to earn that.\r\n\u201cAnd they come with the right for all Americans to take full advantage of this God-given domestic resource to produce clean, cheap, and safe energy.\r\n\u201cThese things have been true for many decades. There\u2019s no reason they shouldn\u2019t still hold true now.\r\n\u201cEastern Kentucky must look for some economic opportunities beyond coal. I support that, and I know the people of the region can accomplish great things. It\u2019s vital that we consider eastern Kentucky\u2019s future.\r\n\u201cBut let me make this point: It is equally vital that we not give up on eastern Kentucky\u2019s present. And coal is the key to the present in eastern Kentucky.\r\n\u201cSo the EPA has the testimony I heard in Pikeville, whether they want it or not. Eastern Kentucky is going to continue to push back in this War on Coal.\r\n\u201cThis war isn\u2019t over yet, not by a long shot. This president will be gone in three years, and the coal will still be in the ground.\r\n\u201cThe people of the region are resilient, and they will keep fighting. So I\u2019m very hopeful for a positive outlook in eastern Kentucky and the Appalachian region. And I will defend them in every way that I can.\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://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fcd8eca9-0d21-4c00-a3fb-3f09ffbbacac"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7199000101536512, "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"}