Rep. Kelly Stands Up for Coal Jobs on House Floor

Votes for REINS Act to end regulatory overreach

Rep. Kelly: “This isn’t just about coal country —  this is about our whole country”

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) – a member of the House Ways and Means Committee – participated in a Special Order yesterday evening on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of the economic benefits of coal and in opposition to harmful regulatory overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The event was hosted by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), chairman of the Congressional Coal Caucus. Rep. Kelly used the occasion to promote the Coal Country Protection Act, which here-introduced on June 3, 2015. Yesterday Rep. Kelly also voted for the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2015, which amends the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to require congressional approval of major agency regulations before such regulations can go into effect. The legislation was passed by the House yesterday evening by a bipartisan vote of 243-165.

Highlights of Rep. Kelly’s floor speech:

“This is one promise the president kept: When he ran as a candidate, he said, ‘You can continue to make electric power by burning coal, but if you decide to go that way, we will bankrupt you.’ That is one promise he has kept.”

“In Pennsylvania alone, coal is responsible for over 40,000 jobs and 40 percent of our electric power. The Associated Press calls it ‘the workhorse of the US power system.’ But the extreme overreach by the EPA is threatening jobs and forcing energy costs for families and manufacturers to skyrocket, which hurts every single American.”

“That’s one of the reasons we re-introduced the Coal Country Protection Act—H.R. 2637. It’s a commonsense bill that would stop any new EPA regulations from affecting America’s power plants until four outcomes are achieved: Number one, no job losses; number two, no loss of GDP or economic growth; number three, no higher electric rates; and number four, no interruption in the reliable delivery in electrical energy. These are pretty commonsense goals.”

“It is about time not just for the coal country people to stand up and fight for coal—it’s time for the whole country to stand up and fight for coal. It’s well past the midnight hour. If we continue to shut down mines, lose jobs, shut down communities, and raise electric rates, then people at home sit back and wonder, ‘What are they doing in Washington, [and] why do they continue to hurt us at every turn?” And the answer is: The people making some of this [environmental] policy have never done what you have done. They never walked in your shoes, [and] they’ve never had to do what we have done in coal country to protect electric power. Why in the world would we do this now in a time when the country is looking for jobs, in a time when the country is looking for less dependence on foreign nations for energy? Why now? Why, Mr. President?”

“The bottom line is this isn’t just about coal country—this is about our whole country. … It’s time now for the people of America to also be heard. Please do not sit in silence and suffer in silence when your voices need to be heard. We need to have everybody standing up for coal, [and] standing up for the protection of electricity that is affordable and reliable. …This is something we will never give up or walk away from. It’s not an option.”

NOTE: Rep. Kelly’s Coal Country Protection Act (H.R. 2637) would halt any new regulation or guidance by the EPA to limit carbon emissions from new or existing power plants until the following criteria are met:

• The Secretary of Labor certifies that there will be no loss in employment

• The Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) certifies that there will be no drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or economic growth

• The Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) certifies that there will be no increase in electricity rates

• The Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the President of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. certify that there will be no interruption in energy delivery

BACKGROUND: On August 4, 2014, The Wall Street Journal published a guest op-ed written by Rep. Kelly on the economic danger of the EPA's anti-coal regulations proposed under President Obama titled, “Pushing Back Against Obama's War on Coal.”

On July 29, 2014, Rep. Kelly formally invited President Obama to visit a coal mine in Western Pennsylvania. The visit would be personally arranged by Rep. Kelly and designed to give the president an opportunity to meet the workers whose jobs are most directly threatened by the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The invitation, since re-iterated, has thus far been declined by the White House.

Rep. Kelly is a member of the Congressional Coal Caucus. On October 29, 2013, he delivered a memorable address at the National Mining Association’s “Rally for American Energy Jobs” on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol which can be viewed here.

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