Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
9/20/13
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) revived familiar “war on coal” rhetoric this week during an ultimately unsuccessful push to pass an anti-carbon regulation measure. McConnell revitalized the mantra that had become a rallying cry for Congressional Republicans against the Obama Administration’s environmental policies ahead of the 2012 election as he brought up his “Saving Coal Jobs Act” legislation for consideration on the Senate floor Sept. 19. “The EPA’s actions ignore the thousands of people in my home state of Kentucky who depend on the coal industry for their livelihoods,” McConnell said in a floor speech before asking for unanimous consent to pass the bill. He called New Source Performance Standards proposed this week by EPA “just the latest Administration salvo in its never-ending war on coal; a war against the very people who provide power and energy for our country.”
Introduced earlier this week, McConnell’s bill would block any new EPA carbon limits on new and existing power plants unless they are first approved by Congress. It also aims to speed up the process the Environmental Protection Agency uses for permitting new or expanded coal mines. “Any policy adopted by Congress should make United States energy as clean as practicable, as quickly as practicable, without increasing the cost of energy for struggling families, seniors, low-income households and small businesses,” the text of the bill states.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) immediately objected to McConnell’s request for unanimous consent to pass the bill on behalf of Senate Democrats but said he would be willing to work with McConnell and others “to come up with a procedure” to have a “reasonable” debate on the issue.
McConnell Steps Up Rhetoric
McConnell has long been a friend of his state’s coal industry but has stepped up his rhetoric in recent months as he seeks to ward off a primary challenge from a Tea Party challenger ahead of next year’s election. McConnell cited an announcement from coal mining company James River Coal earlier this week that it would be idling multiple mines in eastern Kentucky while laying off more than 500 full-time employees as an example of why the legislation is needed. “Kentucky coal miners have suffered far too much already,” McConnell said. “Congress cannot sit idly by and let the EPA unilaterally destroy a vital source of energy and a vital source of employment.”
McConnell said the upcoming EPA regulations for new and existing power plants would “devastate major sectors of the economy” by increasing energy bills and hurting employment. Fellow Kentucky Republican, House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield, has said he also plans to introduce a bill that would sharply limit EPA’s ability to regulate CO2 from power plants.
