Energy and Mining

Congressman Evan Jenkins believes America needs affordable domestic energy to power our homes, businesses and economy. West Virginia has an abundant amount of reliable, domestically produced energy resources – one of the largest reserves in the nation. Evan will continue to advocate on behalf of West Virginia’s energy workers and resources, in particular coal and natural gas, to grow our economy and make our nation more secure.

Evan has always promoted coal as a key component of our nation’s energy policy and believes that an all-of-the-above strategy is the best way to address our energy needs and challenges. He has strongly criticized the administration’s regulatory overreach that unfairly affect West Virginia coal, undermine coal jobs, increase energy costs, and reduce the production of reliable energy that coal provides.

Evan believes it is the responsibility of Congress to take a hard look at the economic consequences of energy legislation and the president’s regulatory policies. He has seen firsthand the toll that this administration’s agenda has taken on West Virginia’s hardworking families. The president’s war on coal has battered Appalachia and cost West Virginia thousands of good-paying jobs.

From the start of the 114th Congress, Evan has fought back against the administration’s regulatory overreach. Through his role on the House Appropriations Committee, he has helped advance legislation to scale back the president’s war on coal, including cutting the president’s budget for the Environmental Protection Agency by $1.2 billion. He obtained key provisions to prohibit costly new rulemaking that would hurt coal-fired power plants and coal mining operations. During committee markup, he sought and secured an important amendment to bar the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from rewriting ground-level ozone standards, a rule which could stifle economic development and halt important transportation projects in West Virginia and across the nation.

In addition to Evan’s work on the House Appropriations Committee, he has cosponsored and worked to pass several other important energy bills. He is an original cosponsor of the Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed the House in June. This bill would ensure that our states are not forced to adopt new, burdensome federal regulations if they increase costs for our energy producers and consumers.

Evan also proudly cosponsored the Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act, which would ensure that our state and local officials are the ones responsible for overseeing coal ash management – not EPA bureaucrats. Further, he was an original cosponsor and a strong advocate for the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which passed the House in July. The REINS Act would allow Congress to vote on expensive regulations proposed by the EPA and other federal agencies.

With deep roots in coal mining, Evan is a passionate advocate of miners and their families. He is an ardent supporter of efforts to improve the health and safety of miners. The first piece of legislation Evan introduced was a resolution ensuring that coal miners would be able to keep their black lung benefits regardless of changes to federal healthcare policy. Evan will continue to fight for the black lung program and encourages efforts to improve working conditions for our miners.

As someone who stands up for our West Virginia miners and their families, Evan is a proud cosponsor of the Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act. This bill will ensure that excess funds from the Abandoned Mine Land Fund will be reserved for many retired miners’ pension and health benefits and continue the solvency of such pension plans.