Press Releases

Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E., (WV-1) delivered remarks to 200 leaders from industry and labor at the Eighth Annual National Labor and Management Public Affairs Committee (LAMPAC) on Tuesday afternoon. He delivered a message on the shared interest between power companies and labor – stopping the threat to the energy industry from overregulation.

Excerpts of Rep. McKinley’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Too often in Washington we become distracted by what divides us – Democrats vs. Republicans, conservative vs. liberal, business vs. labor. That’s not how you get something done.

My background is in the construction industry – over 50 years’ experience. In that business we learned to work together. So when I came to Washington 4 years ago, therefore it was natural build coalitions between business and labor.

We can find common ground– and energy is a good place to start. The issues we face with power generation are a significant threat – not only in terms of jobs for your members and employees, but for our entire economy.

Those of you in this room are well aware of the regulatory overreach the industry is facing. The statistics are startling – the EPA’s own estimates show their clean power plan will shut down 50 gigawatts of coal power in the next 5 years. That’s on top of the 60 GW shutting down due to the EPA’s mercury and air toxic standards. That’s a total of 110 GW of lost capacity.

Keep in mind, America has a total of just over 300 GW of coal fired capacity in this country.
Therefore, America will lose over a third of our current capacity.

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All of these regulations are being pursued due to a misguided focus on climate change.
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Let’s talk plainly to “Mildred Schmidt”, a representative every-American.

She may not know what a “polar vortex” is, but she can understand what it means if she loses power during the coldest or hottest days of the year. We can teach her that coal fired power plants shutting down due to EPA regulations means she’s at greater risk for this happening.

That’s how we can connect the dots.

If manufacturers don’t have access to reliable and affordable electricity from coal or gas, they lose their competitive edge and will move off-shore, taking good jobs with them. That means Mildred’s grandson will lose his job.

Excessive regulations force utilities to increase their rates. That means Mildred, who is on a fixed income, will have less money to spend on groceries.

Stop talking at 30,000 feet about regulations.

Instead, talk about how they will directly impact the lives of millions of Americans.

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