Congressman Mark S. Critz (PA-12) voted today for H.R. 3409, the Stop the War on Coal Act, which prevents the U.S. Department of the Interior from issuing regulations before December 31, 2013 that would adversely affect U.S. coal industry employment or result in reduced government revenues associated with coal production. The bill also creates an interagency committee to review federal clean air regulations; limits federal regulatory oversight of state-level permitting of the storage of coal combustion waste; amends existing federal water pollution laws to transfer authority from the EPA to the states to allow them to make determinations relating to their water quality standards; and bars the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change.
"An affordable and reliable energy source, coal is, and must continue to be, an important part of our nation's energy portfolio," said Congressman Critz, a member of the Congressional Coal Caucus. "The federal government's overregulation of the coal industry is bad for jobs and bad for industries that rely on coal to keep energy and manufacturing costs low. The coal industry supports tens-of-thousands of jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania and is it important that we sustain and grow the responsible development of this important resource."
H.R. 3409 was supported by the National Mining Association (NMA), The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).