HARRISBURG – State Senator Gene Yaw (R-23) today joined representatives from Pennsylvania’s coal industry to call attention to President Barack Obama’s anti-coal energy policies.
During an afternoon press conference at the State Capitol building, Yaw stood with representatives from the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance (PCA), employees of the coal industry, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and state legislators highlighting the “War on Coal” by the Obama Administration.
“If there was ever a question about how the Obama Administration feels about coal and clean-coal technology, take a look at the people running some of our federal agencies, like the Department of Energy,” Yaw said. “This is the most anti-American energy Administration in history.”
Yaw also referenced the anti-coal remarks by then Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2008. “Our current Vice President told environmentalists while campaigning in 2008, ‘we’re not supporting clean coal….no coal plants in America’, he said.”
“We have seen the impact of state regulations aimed at discouraging the use of coal under the Rendell Administration,” Yaw said. “We must work to ensure that additional anti-coal federal regulations are eliminated, but permanently.”
In Pennsylvania, over 40,000 men and women are employed by the coal industry, which subsequently contributes over $7 billion to the economy, according to PCA.
“The loss of this important industry would be devastating to the Commonwealth and to the people it employs,” Yaw added.
Contact: Rita Zielonis
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