WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from imposing its anti-coal regulation by ensuring a vote to repeal it. The CRA provides Congress with the ability to eliminate onerous regulations imposed by the executive branch.

“Kentucky is facing a real crisis here. The Obama Administration appears to be sending signals that its latest regulation is just the beginning in a new, expanded front in its War on Coal. Already, the Administration’s regulations have played a significant role in causing coal jobs in my state to plummet. These are good jobs that pay more than $1 billion in annual wages to my constituents. And for every miner with a job, three more Kentuckians will hold a coal-dependent job too,” Senator McConnell said. “That’s why I – along with about 40 Republican cosponsors, including my friend and fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul – intend to file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to ensure a vote to stop this devastating rule.”

The following are remarks delivered by Senator McConnell on the Senate floor:

“Last week, the Obama Administration published a regulation that would effectively ban coal-fired power plants from being built in the future.
 
“The head of the EPA, who will be testifying on this regulation today, basically admitted as much herself when she called it a ‘significant economic lift.’
 
“She knows that the technology this regulation requires is prohibitively expensive – that her own agency knows it’s nowhere near ready for adoption, that even some White House officials do not believe her plan is feasible – and that that’s the point.
 
“The point here is to eliminate coal jobs in America.
 
“That’s why I wasn’t surprised by emails that recently came to light – emails which appear to show EPA officials colluding with extremist special interests in devising impossible-to-achieve regulations.

“The emails even referred to previously shuttered power plants as ‘defeated,’ making the intent behind coal-related actions seem clear.
 
“And here’s the other thing: this new regulation is not even expected to reduce emissions in a meaningful way. What it will do, however, is trigger a section of law that would allow the Administration to eventually shut down coal-fired plants that already exist today. 
 
“In other words, it could allow the Administration to achieve its true aim of eliminating coal jobs completely.
 
“For struggling middle-class families across Eastern Kentucky, this is just the latest punch in the gut from Washington – from an Administration whose own advisors seem to believe that a ‘war on coal is exactly what’s needed.’
 
“Some call this regulation outrageous. Some say it’s extremism at its worst.
 
“Here’s what I call it: cruel.
 
“Because here’s what’s lost in this Administration’s crusade for ideological purity…in its crusade for the approval of coastal editorial boards...
 
“Human lives. The lives of people I represent. Folks who haven’t done anything to deserve a ‘war’ being declared upon them.
 
“These are Kentuckians who just want to work, provide for their families, and deliver the type of low-cost energy that attracts more jobs to Kentucky.
 
“And coal is what allows so many of them do all that. It provides well-paying jobs and, as Jimmy Rose says, it ‘keeps the lights on.’

“I’d remind my colleagues that coal does more than just keep the lights on in Kentucky. It keeps the lights on here too, both figuratively and literally.
 
“From the anti-coal blogger tapping out a tweet to the EPA staffer cooking up a meal, millions and millions of Americans rely upon coal to power their homes and their offices.
 
“In recent years, coal has accounted for about 40 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. That compares to just about 3.5 percent for sources like wind and solar.

“So even if the Administration were to achieve its dream of eliminating every last coal job, it’s not like they could just fire up a few windmills to cover the gap.
 
“It’s going to take a very, very long time – decades – for alternative sources to even come close to providing the same level of jobs and energy as coal.

“In other words, the Administration’s ideological crusade – it doesn’t even seem to have a logical endgame. It’s basically just ideology.
 
“And here’s the thing: Republicans agree that alternative and renewable energy sources are necessary for fuel diversity. But we believe that things like wind, and geothermal, and solar should be part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that also includes coal, and natural gas, and the oil that we can get right here in North America—with Americans providing the workforce.
 
“Another key difference is this: Republicans look at Kentucky coal miners and see hardworking men and women, not an obstacle to some left-wing fantasy.
 
“That’s why I – along with about 40 Republican cosponsors, including my friend and fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul – intend to file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to ensure a vote to stop this devastating rule.

“We believe the EPA regulation in question clearly meets the definition for congressional review under this statute, and I am sending a letter to Comptroller General Dodaro outlining the reasons why this is so.
 
“And if the Majority Leader is serious about helping Kentuckians, he’d stop blocking the Senate from passing my Saving Coal Jobs Act too. It’s just common-sense legislation that would give the elected representatives of the people a greater say in how coal is regulated in this country. There’s no reason for him to keep it bottled up a moment longer.
 
“Look: Kentucky is facing a real crisis here. The Obama Administration appears to be sending signals that its latest regulation is just the beginning in a new, expanded front in its War on Coal. Already, the Administration’s regulations have played a significant role in causing coal jobs in my state to plummet. These are good jobs that pay more than $1 billion in annual wages to my constituents. And for every miner with a job, three more Kentuckians will hold a coal-dependent job too.
 
“So the Majority Leader and his Washington Democrat caucus now have a choice. Are they going to stand with the coal families under attack in places like Kentucky and West Virginia and Colorado, or are they going to continue to stand with the powerful left-wing special interests that want to see their jobs eliminated?
 
“That’s the choice. I know where I stand.”