Bipartisan Group of Representatives Introduce Bill to Repeal Anti-Coal Standards

U.S. Representatives Ed Whitfield (R - KY), Nick Rahall (D -- WV), Dave McKinley (R -- WV) and William Enyart (D -- IL) announced that they have introduced legislation to repeal Section 433 in the Energy Conservation and Production Act of 2007. This provision requires a reduction in "fossil fuel-generated energy," such as coal and natural gas, in all new and modified federal buildings by the year 2030. The bipartisan measure would allow the government more access to reliable and affordable energy sources and would ensure that cost effective measures are available.

"President Obama continues to insist that he is supportive of an all-of-the-above energy policy, so I sincerely hope that he agrees with me that resources like coal should not be excluded from the energy sources being considered for the powering of federally-owned buildings," stated Rep. Whitfield.

"This is a tax payer fairness issue as much as anything else," stated Rep. Rahall. "These are federal buildings, built and maintained at taxpayer expense, so we should ensure that reliable and low-cost energy options such as coal are available to generate the power to heat and cool them."

"These anti-coal standards are just another tool by this administration to continue and shut down the entire coal industry, impacting thousands of hard-working families," stated Rep. McKinley. "We need to continue common sense types of energy such as coal and natural gas instead of basing knee-jerk decisions on political ideology."

"At a time when job creation and fiscal discipline remain all-important, it makes sense for the federal government to live up to those principles," stated Rep. Enyart. "Coal is a cost effective energy source that puts America back to work."

Although the Department of Energy has yet to issue a final rule implementing this requirement from 2007, the law would eliminate the future use of domestic energy using coal and natural gas as a fuel source in building new structures and retrofitting existing ones. The bipartisan co-sponsors believe it is important for the federal government to be energy efficient, but we should not limit our fuel choice options in doing so.