WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s recent confirmation that the Administration is waging a War on Coal:

“In the Obama Administration’s latest offensive in its War on Coal, it has proposed new regulations that threaten Kentucky’s 20 existing coal-fired power plants while potentially putting thousands out of work.
 
“If enacted, the massive new regulations would prove the single worst blow to Kentucky’s economy in modern times—and a dagger to the heart of the Commonwealth’s Middle Class.
 
“Despite what they are called, the proposed restrictions on Kentucky’s coal-fired power plants amount to little more than a massive energy tax. And they will have a devastating effect on Kentucky.
 
“The Administration announced it would hold four public hearings on the new proposed regulations. And, given the dramatic effects they’re sure to have on my home state, you’d think they’d hold at least one of those hearings in Eastern Kentucky, or somewhere in Kentucky at the very least.

“But then, you’d be mistaken.
 
“Once again, just like last year when the Obama Administration held public hearings before proposing this national energy tax, not one of the sessions is slated for a non-metropolitan area dependent on coal. The nearest location to Eastern Kentucky is a 10-hour round trip away.
 
“Since coal employs over 11,000 Kentuckians and accounts for over 90 percent of Kentucky’s electricity, I wrote a letter to Gina McCarthy, the EPA administrator, formally requesting that she convene a hearing in coal country. I have yet to get a response.
 
“It doesn’t appear that Administrator McCarthy is too busy to talk to some people, however. Imagine my surprise this weekend when I learned that she found the time Friday night to appear on an HBO late-night comedy show, where she admitted that the Obama Administration is in fact waging a War on Coal.
 
“The host asked her this question, quote: ‘Some people called it a War on Coal. I hope it is a War on Coal. Is it?’
 
“After a moment of indirection, Administrator McCarthy conceded that a War on Coal is, quote, ‘exactly what this is.’
 
“Of course, this talk show was recorded in front of a friendly anti-coal host and audience, in a television studio in Los Angeles. It almost sounds like the site of one of her EPA’s anti-coal hearings.
 
“Why does Administrator McCarthy have the time to appear on HBO, but not to appear on WYMT-TV in Hazard, so she can explain her War on Coal to the people it is most directly affecting?
 
“Why does she have time to sit down with a TV comedian, but not with the editors of the Appalachian News Express in Pikeville, so she can look my constituents in the eye and explain how these rules will impact them?
 
“Of course, for those of us who watch this Administration closely, this kind of admission is nothing new. A year ago, an adviser to the White House acknowledged that, quote, ‘a War on Coal is exactly what’s needed.’
 
“Last year, because the Obama Administration refused to hold any of its listening sessions in Coal Country, I held one of my own. We heard a lot of riveting testimony from coal miners, those in the coal industry, and their families, and I brought their stories back to the Administration where I testified on their behalf since the administrator wouldn’t hear from them directly.
 
“I’m committed to making sure Kentucky’s voice is heard on this issue, even if the Obama Administration doesn’t want to listen. That’s why I immediately responded to the Administration’s new regulations with my own legislation, the Coal Country Protection Act, to push back against the president’s extreme anti-coal scheme.
 
“Supported by the Kentucky Coal Association, my legislation would require that the following simple but important benchmarks be met before his rules take effect:

• One, the Secretary of Labor would have to certify that the new rules would not generate loss of employment.
• Two, the Director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office would have to certify the rules would not result in any loss in American gross domestic product.
• Three, the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration would have to certify the rules would not increase electricity rates.
• And four, the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the President of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation would have to certify that electricity delivery would remain reliable.

“That’s it. My legislation is just plain common sense. And I urge the Majority Leader to allow a vote on my legislation.”