Time is Running Out

Floor Speech

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Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, time is running out to do right by our retired coal miners and their widows. When they went down into the mines, they were made a promise: When you retire, you will have good pensions and healthcare benefits.

They literally put their lives on the line to put food on their table and power our nation, but now that promise is in jeopardy.

At the end of the year, the healthcare benefits for many miners and their widows will dry up, and their pensions could end soon as well.

These families are worried about making ends meet, and they are going into the holidays with great uncertainty about what the new year will bring.

We have a solution. It is called the Coal Healthcare and Pension Miners Protection Act, legislation which I am proud to cosponsor. It is a bipartisan bill, and a similar bill is actually pending in the Senate.

Congress needs to act to fulfill this promise. Our miners have done so much for our country. They mined the coal that made the steel that built the skyscrapers and won world wars. These miners and their families deserve no less than what they worked their entire lives to earn: the peace of mind that comes with a pension.

I urge my colleagues to keep the promise and support this important legislation. Time is running out to stand up for our miners and their families.

Relief from Presidential Midnight Rules

Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, in just 64 days, a new President will be sworn in. That is 64 days for the current President, President Obama, to jam through new regulations; new regulations that will hurt our families, kill our jobs, and continue damaging our economies.

We saw that just this morning when his administration released the final environmental study for the stream buffer zone rule. This rule continues the administration's war on coal and will take it even further down the road of killing jobs in West Virginia.

Congress and the States have all issued opposition to this rule, but this administration didn't listen. It is full steam ahead for this radical agenda and overregulation from the Obama administration.

That is why I am proud to support what is known as the Midnight Rules Relief Act. We are voting on it this week.
This bill is simple. It gives Congress the authority to review and reject rules that this President, President Obama, or any President issues during the final months of their term.

American families and businesses have suffered long enough under this administration's, this President's regulatory onslaught, and they have spoken loud and clear at the polls that they do not want more business as usual from Washington.

This administration cannot be allowed to force its job-killing regulations on the American people after their policies have been so soundly rejected.

I urge my colleagues to join me in standing up against midnight rules and bringing transparency and accountability back to our Federal agencies.

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