Winning the war on coal
Too often, the practice in Washington, DC has been for policymakers to hear “Beltway” experts and officials from the Environmental Protection Agency explain their regulations. But this practice doesn’t capture the daily impact of Washington’s actions on the communities where good jobs, with good wages, support a proud way of life.
That’s why I was encouraged to see thousands of Southwestern Pennsylvania electricians, boilermakers, and miners who depend on coal take to the streets of downtown Pittsburgh this past August and make their voice heard over new EPA regulations that would eliminate coal as a fuel source.
As Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I’ve been leading an examination of how the EPA’s latest regulations would impact jobs, economic growth, and electric reliability. My committee is specifically focused on whether the EPA ignored or violated federal law in developing its back-door Cap-and-Trade regulations for coal-fired power plants.
That investigation is ongoing, but so far here’s what we’ve learned:
n The EPA would mandate utilities adopt new technologies that haven’t been field-tested and are decades away from commercial viability;
n The proposal would increase wholesale electric rates upwards of 70 percent according to the Department of Energy;
n Even by EPA’s own estimates, these new rules will cost consumers billions of dollars every year and destroy thousands of jobs; and
n The EPA is not taking into account the impact of proposed regulations on electricity rates, grid reliability, and jobs.
For example, the agency didn’t consider the nearly 400 people who were put out of work with the shuttering of the Hatfield and Mitchell coal-fired power plants in Greene and Washington counties. The EPA didn’t consider the people who lost their jobs at Joy Mining in Houston, Pennsylvania last October, or the hundreds working at local coal mines that have since closed down. In fact, the EPA does not consider the thousands of miners, boilermakers, and electricians who are out of work at all.
A century ago when my grandfather came to America, he worked in a coal mine. Things were different then. Mines were extremely dangerous. Roofs would collapse. Mine injuries and deaths were all too common. Back then, factories, homes, and power plants burnt coal without concern for the environment so the skies were dark with soot. Street lights turned on at noon, and businessmen would take a second white dress shirt to work to change into at mid-day.
Major changes in environmental practices have cleared the skies and reduced emissions by more than fifty percent even as coal usage tripled. Of course, we can always do better. That’s why I support a real commitment to investing in clean coal. Unfortunately, this is made exceedingly difficult under the Administration’s budget, which has cut hundreds of millions of dollars from clean-coal research at the National Energy Technology Laboratory in South Park. The Administration giving up on clean coal reminds me of the editors of New York Times, who opined in 1903 after a failed attempt at flight by the Wright Brothers, that it would be one million to ten million years before man could fly. We need to invest in coal – not advance policies to shut it down.
Because of the “War on Coal,” poverty is making a comeback. The U.S. began the War on Poverty in the 1960s — focused on Appalachian coal country. For a while, employment improved as coal was used more. Now, mines are closed and power plants shut down.
The men and women who marched in the streets in August looking to save their jobs weren’t asking for anything from their government other than the opportunity to provide for their families.
When they lose their jobs, the government will offer unemployment.
If they are hungry, the government will offer food stamps. If they lose their homes, they’ll be given public housing. But if they lose hope? The government will turn away. If we want to win the War on Poverty, we must stop the War on Coal.
Rep. Tim Murphy is in his sixth term representing Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district encompassing suburban Pittsburgh including parts of Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland and Greene counties. He also serves as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, which has jurisdiction over the EPA. For more information, visit Murphy.House.Gov.