Congressmen Targeting Paper Mills

Last night I attended the wind energy meeting at, appropriately enough, the Wind Lea Conference Center. US Windforce representatives broke down for us the pre construction steps that needed to be taken before the turbines can go up, along with reviewing what they had done in the last six months to get this far. I came away thinking that if I had money to invest to actually build a new industrial concern, I would probably do it in China. Why would anyone want to jump through all of these regulatory hoops to build in the United States? The process is so difficult, expensive, and time consuming that it is not worthwhile to manufacture here. Since we have chosen to make new manufacturing as difficult as possible by electing leaders that pass these laws, if we want good jobs, we must keep what we have.

Around here, that means The Mill. In an economic downturn, our paper mill's employees are always worried about layoffs or even a shut down. They have to worry because it is their family's livelihood. Even more importantly is the ripple effect from employees. They can afford to surface their driveways, put in pools, and do other things that employ local small businesses. I know of one small business whose entire customer base last summer was mill employees.

That is why the new efforts to slip cap and trade back into relevance are so menacing. Joe Lieberman (I) CT, Lindsay Graham (allegedly R) SC and John Kerry (D) MA are trying to refashion the cap and trade bill to go after specific industries. Going after everything at once was too controversial. Going after industries piecemeal might not get as much negative attention.

They want to go after electric utilities first. That, of course, means coal fired plants. We are familiar with the War on Coal. However, among the next list of targets are paper mills. In both cases they want to introduce costly regulations that will have the effect of driving away jobs and perhaps entire establishments.

Clearly if this new assault on mining and manufacturing is allowed to pass, Mineral, Garrett, and Allegheny Counties will be economically devastated. Each relies so heavily on the mill at Luke for jobs.

Lindsay Graham has broken from an otherwise solid GOP stance against this further assault on manufacturing. Otherwise, Republicans by and large support the businesses and workers in mills, mines, and other traditional blue collar fields.

Mill workers and miners in this area need to get their unions active on this issue. Tell them to blast Congress with demands that they stop attacking the American worker in the name of a global warming theory based on the fraud of lying scientists. In the past, unions protected labor against company policies that sometimes neglected workers' interests. Now it is clear that labor unions and business have the common interest of keeping jobs here. They need to work together to fight legislation that kills jobs.

If the mill goes away, what will replace it? Who will employ these people? Where will they go? What will they do? John Kerry, Lindsay Graham, and Joe Liebermann should come to Luke and answer those questions personally.

Capito Questions Obama at House Republican Conference

Congresswoman Raises Coal, Cap-and-Trade

WASHINGTON – House Republicans invited President Obama to address their conference this morning and – after making his remarks – the President took questions from Republican Members of Congress, including a question from Rep. Shelley Moore Capito:

REP. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO: “Thank you Mr. President for joining us here today. As you said on your… in the State of the Union address on Wednesday, jobs and the economy are number one. And I think everyone in this room, certainly I, agree with you on that.

“I represent the state of West Virginia. We're resource rich. We have a lot of coal and a lot of natural gas.

“But our… my miners and the folks who are working and those who are unemployed are very concerned about some of your policies in these areas: cap-and-trade, an aggressive EPA and the looming prospect of higher taxes. In our minds, these are job-killing policies.

“So I'm asking… if you would be willing to re-look at some of these policies, with the high unemployment and the unsure economy that we have now, to assure West Virginians that you're listening.”

The full exchange accessed here

Coal-State Members Launch Congressional Coal Caucus

WASHINGTON – As energy issues remain at the forefront of the national political debate, a coalition of coal-state members of Congress announced today that they have teamed-up to form the Congressional Coal Caucus.

Calling coal “America’s most abundant and affordable energy resource,” the bipartisan group of congressmen and women note that coal provides nearly 50% of America’s energy supply and generates more than 130,000 coal-mining jobs. They’ve pledged to use their new caucus to provide a voice for coal communities in Congress.

“Coal is a critical component to our nation’s energy future,” said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “Whether it’s on a cap-and-trade bill or on clean coal technology, this caucus will give coal-states a forum to highlight their priorities and present a unified voice. I’m proud to join my colleagues in forming this caucus and I look forward to our work together.”

“As a Congress, it is vitally important that we continue to support the development of clean coal technologies,” Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said. “I am proud to help launch this caucus, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help enact policies that will maximize America’s coal resources.”

Members joining Altmire and Capito in forming the coal caucus include Reps. Tim Holden (D-PA), Denny Rehberg (R-MT), John Salazar (D-CO) and John Shimkus (R-IL). Together the new coalition will promote awareness of American coal along with the new technologies currently on the horizon that can help make coal use cleaner and safer.

The six initial caucus members are also circulating a Dear Colleague inviting other members of Congress to join them.

“The Coal Caucus gives coal states like Pennsylvania a strong voice in Congress to encourage the use of coal as an affordable, reliable and increasingly clean source of energy,” said Rep. Tim Holden, D-Pa. “I am proud to be a part of this effort to promote economically and environmentally sound mining, reclamation and consumption practices including clean coal technologies on Capitol Hill.”

“America needs an all-of-the-above energy plan that increases domestic supplies, lowers costs and makes us less dependent on foreign sources of energy,” said Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont. “While many in Washington may think that energy comes from the wall outlet, Montanans have been in the energy production business long enough to understand the vital role coal plays in our country and our economy. As a caucus, we’ll focus on developing cleaner and more efficient ways to use America’s vast stores of coal, and by doing so, help create good-paying jobs and affordable energy for American families.”

“Coal is a vital resource in Colorado and throughout the nation, and will continue to play a role in helping meet our nation’s energy needs. Coal provides jobs in my district and nearly all of our energy is derived from coal. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Coal Caucus,” said Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo.

“With the current debates over energy policy as well as the environment, it is more important than ever that coal interests be represented in Congress,” said Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. “We can move much faster toward energy independence by taking advantage of the enormous supply of coal that exists in my district and elsewhere in the nation. To ignore an abundant source of low-cost energy in our own country is absurd.”

Obama Stumps for Cap and Tax

[Charleston, WV] West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney issued the following statement in response to President Obama's speech this morning at MIT about the energy legislation working its way through the Democrat Congress:

"Moments ago, President Obama concluded his remarks to a small crowd of supporters in Massachusetts as he called for 'the passage of comprehensive legislation that will finally make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy in America'. That's a laudable goal, but not if it means loosing hundreds of thousands of jobs we can't replace and spending billions of dollars we don't have. The Democrat cap and tax scheme is simply one more big government boondoggle that West Virginian's can't afford. Of course if Obama and his entourage had bothered to show up in a place that produces coal, like West Virginia, they might have actually heard that opinion. Instead it's clear that president cares more about his image in Copenhagen this December at the international climate talks than he dose about American workers and American jobs"

Environmental Protection Agency Study Shows Mankind Does Not Change Global Temperatures, But Don't Tell Anyone!

Michelle Malkin has spent a lot of time on her net publication discussing the increasing pressure on Environmental Protection Agency senior analyst Dr. Alan Carlin.

Apparently Dr. Carlin produced a study that shows that fluctuations in the ocean, not man produced carbon dioxide, affect global warming and cooling cycles. Add this to the very strong scientific evidence that the Earth's temperatures (as well as Mars) rise and fall in conjunction with solar activity.

Dr. Carlin heads the National Center for Environmental Economics under the EPA and is a career government civil servant. Of course his little neck of the federal government woods is about to be eliminated by executive action. In other words, Dr. Carlin contradicts the innumerable and scientifically useless correlation based studies and fake computer models that bolster legal attempts to raise our electric bills and destroy the coal industry. Therefore he must go.

Again, I am not saying that we should not try to reduce pollution. Capitalist nations have shown themselves to be most effective at reducing pollutants as opposed to Communist countries and other dictatorships. The free market punishes industrial polluters through publication of facts and figures. Gradually we have cut pollution in this country tremendously since the 1970s. We still have work to do, but we have come a long way. On the other hand, we must not sacrifice our standard of living for radical changes.

Radical changes, such as the president's goal to drive electric bills into the stratosphere, will be counterproductive. Part of the drop in pollution overall comes from decreased use of wood and coal burning stoves over the past century. If electric bills go up, people will return to wood and coal in large numbers. After all, many West Virginians can get that fuel from the very land they own by themselves.

Too many experts and studies contradict the anti-capitalist mantra of global warming. Obama's heavy handed ploy to drive out the architect of the latest study that points out his mistakes reveals how little confidence they have in their own science.

Cap and Tax Passes House

Cap and Tax passes House 219 to 212

Democrats 211 Y, 44 N
Republicans 8 Y, 168 N

3 not voting

Cap and Trade: Lights Out

WV GOP Chairman McKinney: Democrats’ “Cap And Tax” Hurts West Virginian Families And Workers

WV GOP Chairman McKinney: Democrats’ “Cap And Tax” Hurts West Virginian Families And Workers

For Immediate Release Contact: Doug McKinney, M.D.

June 25, 2009 304.641.1205

Charleston, WV – West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney issued the following statement today regarding President Obama and Congressional Democrats’ so-called “cap-and-trade” program:

“As a lifelong West Virginian, I am extremely concerned about the impact of the Democrats’ national energy tax on our state. President Obama and Congressional Democrats’ ‘cap-and-trade’ plan is a large energy tax that will increase costs for the average American household by more than $1200, and endanger 10,000 to 25,000 jobs in energy production, an industry important to West Virginia. During a time of economic uncertainty, President Obama should not increase taxes on hard-working Americans.

“Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress are out of touch. The American people want energy independence and a cleaner environment without a national energy tax. Today, concerned citizens will deliver candles to the West Virginia Democratic Party and ask them to take action by urging their Democratic Members of Congress to vote against ‘cap and tax.’”

Obama's Quest to Raise Your Electric Bills Marches On

Last week Obama's anti-energy policies took a new turn for the worse as the federal government sought to weigh down West Virginia coal companies, miners, and the families that depend on their paychecks with additional rules on permits.

It's no secret. Obama has stated repeatedly that he wants the price of electric to rise. He promised additional taxes. Adding structural costs accomplishes the same goal without as much bad publicity. In a time when people struggle to simply keep their service turned on, the president callously demands that we needlessly sacrifice more. It's like asking a person to starve themselves at a low price buffet.

Certainly we should remove obstacles in the path of windmills and other alternative forms of energy. They form part of a cornucopia of energy sources both new and traditional. America needs cheap and plentiful energy to power our economy. Unfortunately Obama thinks otherwise.

Shelley Moore Capito has expressed grave concern, not only due to the impending rise in costs, but also the effect on thousands of working West Virginians. West Virginia's second district Republican congresswoman has shown more concern for these families than Obama or the Democratic congressional leadership. To be fair, Senator Byrd has also led attacks on these anti-Mountain State policies.

Of course over 60% of West Virginians could have predicted this result.

Time to Constitutionally Reform Executive Orders

I do not like Executive Orders. I don't care who is president, I do not like them. They reek of monarchical, if not dictatorial, government and it is time to put some limits upon them.

Executive Orders are issued by the president and have the force of law unless Congress says otherwise. Franklin Roosevelt interned thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent by Executive Order. Clinton seized hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the final months of his presidency.

Here is my proposal. Constitutionally define what an Executive Order is. Then say that unless Congress approves it in three years, it is off the books. This allows the president to respond to emergencies and gives him or her enough time to sell the action to Congress.

Additionally any presidential executive order that involves the taking of land would need the approval of that state's legislature before going into effect.

This would have the effect of balancing presidential power while allowing for them to respond effectively to immediate emergencies.

Obama's recent moves againt West Virginia coal mining methods reveal that federal regulatory law may also need some congressional oversight.

Gingrich to Waxman: Dont Punish Americans with Energy Taxes

West Virginia wake up, Cap and Trade will kill our state