WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding the burdensome regulations placed on Kentucky coal jobs by the Obama Administration:

“It’s no secret that the Obama administration’s policies have been extraordinarily harmful to job creation and retention. And, from the perspective of my home state of Kentucky, there is no greater example of the ill effects of these policies than the president’s War on Coal.

“Given the unhealthy economy, the Senate should be regularly debating and voting on measures to overturn anti-jobs policies and pass bipartisan reforms to help grow the economy. But, under the current majority, that is not the case.

“The Senator Majority Leader instead has refused to permit any amendments on preserving coal and coal-fired power all year. None whatsoever. Even though the Obama administration’s anti-coal rules not only adversely affect states with Republican senators, such as Kentucky, but states represented by Democratic members as well.

“The Senate’s failure to address coal is reflective of the chamber’s dysfunction. While the House is passing bipartisan jobs bills, the Senate Democrats’ priorities are show votes.

“Let’s review where we are and how we got here.

“In 2008, candidate Obama said: ‘If somebody wants to build a coal power plant, they can—it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.’ He has been true to his word.

“Americans have seen a barrage of regulations and red tape from the president’s Environmental Protection Agency, strangling the coal industry, one of my home state’s most important sources of jobs and economic development. Kentucky miners and the thousands more from the Commonwealth whose jobs rely on mining are feeling the pain from the president’s efforts.

“The regulations and lack of certainty in the coal industry that this administration has caused have contributed to a loss of 7,000 Kentucky jobs in that industry since the year President Obama took office.

“That tells me that the overregulation that this administration’s EPA keeps piling on is contributing in a major way to the job decline in my home state.

“Those of us who represent coal states have made numerous attempts to rein in the EPA, but the Senate Majority Leader and fellow Democrats here in Washington have blocked us at every turn.

“Last September, I introduced the Saving Coal Jobs Act. The bill would have ended the abuse of the permitting process by the EPA by requiring the agency to approve or veto mining permit applications within 270 days of their submission. This legislation is necessary because the EPA’s tactic of choice is to sit on permits, effectively killing them.

“My bill also included language prohibiting any new carbon emissions standards on new or existing power plants as mandated by federal agencies without the approval of Congress.

“After all, Congress—not the executive branch—is supposed to write our nation’s laws.

“Unfortunately, what happened when I introduced this legislation is something that has become all too familiar. When I made a motion to proceed to the bill, it was blocked by the Majority Leader.

“Mr. President, this April I offered my Saving Coal Jobs Act as an amendment to the then-pending unemployment insurance bill before the Senate. This motion was blocked by the Majority Leader.

“In May, I again offered the Saving Coal Jobs Act as an amendment to the then-pending energy efficiency bill. Once again, it was blocked by the Senate Majority Leader.

“A few days later in May, I offered legislation to stop the EPA from moving forward with its anti-coal jobs carbon regulations. My amendment, introduced along with Senators Vitter and Hoeven, would have halted the administration from moving forward with new regulations on coal-fired power plants until the technology required to comply with the regulations is commercially viable—which it currently is not.

“Once again, this common-sense measure on behalf of Kentucky coal miners and their families and jobs was blocked by the Majority Leader. And that bill was originally sponsored by a colleague on the other side of the aisle. It fared no better under this Majority Leader than do Republican pro-coal bills.

“Moreover, the Majority Leader isn’t just blocking pro-coal legislation on the Senate Floor—he is also willing to shut down the committee process, for fear of pro-coal amendments having the votes to pass. In June, he had Senate Democrats prevent the Energy and Water Appropriations bill from being marked up, when they learned I had the votes for my amendment reining in government regulations on coal-fired power plants.

“Earlier this year, the president’s EPA announced new regulations it wanted to enact on existing power plants that would be a dagger to the heart of my State’s middle class and constitute the single worst blow to Kentucky’s economy in modern times.

“The proposed EPA regulations on existing power plants would kill jobs and raise utility rates across the state while making the transmission of electricity less reliable. The regulations would adversely affect Kentucky power plants that account for thousands of Kentucky jobs.

“These regulations are why this June, I introduced the Coal Country Protection Act—legislation to block the president’s proposed regulations on carbon emissions from existing power plants if those regulations eliminate jobs, cost our economy dollars, increase electricity prices, or jeopardize electricity reliability.

“Those requirements are just common sense. And yet, once again, the Majority Leader refused to allow a vote on my legislation.

“The importance of my Coal Country Protection Act is reflected in the findings of a recent Government Accountability Office, or GAO, study. My colleague Senator Murkowski from Alaska requested this study, which found that, as a result of the EPA’s existing and proposed regulations, the number of coal-fired power plant closings across the country is even higher than what was originally estimated by the GAO in 2012.

“These planned coal plant retirements are largely due to EPA red tape. Current proposed regulations—from carbon regulations to the proposed lower ozone standards— will only make this number increase if they move forward.

“These shutdowns mean higher electricity prices. Sadly, EPA bureaucrats don’t understand or don’t care about how the abundance of coal in Kentucky permits the State to benefit from relatively low energy rates, which makes our businesses more competitive and makes it easier to attract jobs.

“And as we saw during last winter’s cold snap, our country needs coal and ready access to it. Coal allows us to generate affordable power when there is an uptick in electricity use combined with spikes in natural gas prices.

“But as the EPA uses administrative fiat to terminate existing and future coal-fired power plants, there will be less coal when we need it the most—when we need a source of affordable power. Families throughout the country that rely on coal for electricity could find themselves in a tough spot in the near future with the current Administration in office.

“Those are the facts about this Administration’s War on Coal. But let me provide a more vivid picture about Kentucky coal itself.

“Kentuckians have been mining coal for generations.

“Kentucky coal helped power the Industrial Revolution that transformed our economy into the largest and most prosperous in the world.

“Kentucky coal has even contributed to the struggle to defend our nation in times of war.

“Kentucky’s coal miners have done so much for our nation. The Senate should not be turning its back on them now.

“Jimmy Rose of Pineville, Kentucky, is well known to many as the voice of coal country. Jimmy is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Iraq, a former coal miner, and a finalist from the television show ‘America’s Got Talent’ who is famous for his song ‘Coal Keeps the Lights On.’

“I think Jimmy put it best when he said, ‘coal keeps the bills paid, the clothes on the backs, and shoes on the feet.’

“I will not stand idly by while this administration and this EPA try to wipe out the lifeblood of my home State. The Senate was created to be a deliberative body, one that would debate and legislate on the great issues of the day. Instead, the Senate as it is currently run does all it can to avoid important subjects such as the War on Coal.

“It doesn’t have to be that way. This Senate can still reclaim its mantle as a body of vigorous debate and legislative achievement.

“And the Kentucky coal miner can still do an honest day’s hard work for good pay. Because after this administration is out of office, the coal will still be in the ground.

“So I’m going to fight for that Kentucky coal miner to hold onto our State’s birthright. This War on Coal is not over, not by a long shot.

“I just explained why the War on Coal has been so damaging to the people of my state. It’s clear to me, at least, that we need to work together toward sensible, all-of-the-above energy policies.

“The good news is that the Republican-run House is set to present us with another perfect opportunity to work across the aisle and do just that this week.

“The House plans to pass and send over a bipartisan legislative package that would create jobs while helping to make energy more affordable and more abundant.

“Among other things, this energy package would finally approve the Keystone Pipeline.

“This is a project that’s safe, shovel-ready, and could create tens of thousands of jobs right away.

“It’s just unacceptable that the Administration has now spent six years dragging its feet on it, and I commend my colleague from North Dakota for bringing attention to that fact — and for his strong, vocal leadership on the issue. While some on the other side of the aisle claim to be supportive of Keystone jobs, they’ve failed to stand up to the majority leader who has blocked this effort time and time again on behalf of the Obama administration.

“We need to approve the House legislative package and finally get this pipeline built and these Keystone jobs created.

“But the House’s energy package would do a lot more than just that.

“It would also modernize the permitting process, allow for more energy exploration and increase exports of American energy, and it would help us fight back against the Obama Administration’s war on Kentucky coal jobs in several different ways.

“One bill would prevent the Administration from developing more job-killing coal regulations, and another from Representative Whitfield would push back on the coal regulations that have already been issued.

“So this package is common sense. I applaud our colleagues in the House for their efforts on the issue.

“It presents a perfect opportunity for our Democrat friends, if they’re willing to support it, to prove that they’re serious about real solutions for middle class families — that they have a real agenda beyond just designed-to-fail campaign bills.”