NO LAUGHING MATTER IN
SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
The Republican led
U.S. House of
Representatives missed
its opportunity to
usher in a new era of
responsible energy
policy and
environmental
stewardship last week
when it passed an
energy bill that does
nothing for the coal
miner and coalfield
communities.
Currently, the bill is
being blocked from
further consideration
in the Senate and done
for this year thanks
largely to Democrats
with the support of
several Republican
Senators.
The extent of the
ill-conceived energy
bill is truly
staggering.
Negotiated behind
closed doors with Vice
President Cheney, the
bill stuck us in a
policy time warp,
shoveling out taxpayer
money over to the oil
and gas industry to
the tune of $25
billion in tax breaks.
In
addition, the bill
contains $5.3 billion
in direct spending,
yet not one cent is
marked for clean coal
technology
development. And, not
only does this bill
giveaway millions of
dollars in oil and gas
royalties and cast
aside environmental
protections, it leaves
behind this Nation's
coal miners, who have
sacrificed their
health and safety to
fuel this superpower
for generations - and
continue to do so, by
providing over
one-half of the
Nation's electricity.
I fought
hard for an amendment
that would have
addressed abandoned
mine clean up funding
deficits and the
health care needs of
retired coal miners.
Yet the pleading
voices of coal miners
hailing from Southern
West Virginia met deaf
ears in the Republican
Congress.
It is no
surprise that the
Republican leadership
and the White House
have chosen to ignore
the needs of coal
miners in Appalachia.
After all, the
rallying cry for this
Administration has
long been "let the
rich get richer and
the poor get poorer".
The same
Administration that
gave away millions to
the wealthiest of the
wealthy is now paying
off its friends at the
expense of some of our
bravest citizens - our
hardworking coal
miners.
I am sure corporate
boardrooms across
America are throwing
parties today, but in
the hills and hollers
of Southern West
Virginia, this is no
laughing matter.
This Administration
isn't concerned with
how much debt and
environmental
destruction they are
heaping on future
generations, with
their giveaways to the
oil and gas industry
and the richest of
rich, but what is
grossly apparent is
that this
Administration
obviously isn't
concerned about West
Virginians.
U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall
(D-WV) represents West
Virginia's 3rd
District
