Issue Position: Natural Resource Production
Issue Position
It is obvious there is a "War on Coal' going on in America. The EPA is doing all it can to eliminate coal in the United States. Eliminating coal will do three things: 1. Eliminate thousands of great jobs that the people of the Ohio Valley depend on 2. Raise the price of electricity 3. Reduce the reliability of sufficient energy.
There are approximately 3,000 Ohioans directly employed by the coal industry, and according to university studies, each one of those jobs are responsible for providing 11 spin-off jobs which means 36,000 Ohioans have good paying jobs because of the coal industry. The elimination of the coal industry will not only erase as many as 36,000 jobs, but every Ohioan will see a rise in their electric bills.
States that use coal have 33% lower electric rates than states that do not use coal. This is a very important fact considering that the EPA's regulations of the coal industry are also a direct attack on low income families, especially single parents, senior citizens and minorities. From 2001 to 2010 the percentage of after-tax income spent on energy for households earning less than $10,000 per year rose from 36% to 69%, for households earning $10,000 to $30,000 that percentage increased from 14% to 22% and for households earning $30,000 to $50,000 the percentage climbed from 10% to 16%. For all of these families, they spend more money on energy than food and clothing.
Coal is also the most reliable way to keep electricity flowing to millions of homes across the United States. During the polar vortex cold snaps this year, American Electric Power Company's coal-fired power plants, which are scheduled to close in 2015, were running at 89% capacity. When these plants are shut down, Ohioans will run the risk of being without power during the coldest days of the year either because there will not be enough electricity to meet the demand of consumers or because the electricity will simply be too expensive for lower income households.
If the EPA continues to try and kill the coal industry, the pain at the plug will be much greater than the pain at the pump. As your State Representative, I will fight for the coal miners and the families who rely on this inexpensive energy resource to help the Ohio Valley thrive.
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