WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Climate Change, delivered opening remarks during a hearing focused on the federal response to climate change. During his opening remarks McKinley explained to the committee how detrimental it would be for hard-working Americans if the Biden Administration transitioned from using fossil fuels as a main energy resource:
“When the war on coal was underway, there was no transition to renewables, but rather those workers adapted their skills for jobs in the natural gas sector. What about America’s steel industry. During the 80s and 90s, excessive government regulations devastated steel towns and families. Think about it. Just 45 years ago, America was producing give times the amount of steel as China.
“But now, America is producing less than 90 million tons, while China has exploded to manufacturing a billion tons. 11 times more than America.
“What happened to the tax base, the school systems, and the health care in the communities that lost the high paying jobs of Kaiser, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, McClouth, National, or Bethlehem steel?
“The companies and jobs are gone. The communities have never recovered. Where was the compassionate transition for those communities and families?
“Based on these experiences, neither a President nor a Congress should ever put a regulation in place before a bipartisan transition plan has been adopted.
During the five minutes of questioning, McKinley reminded the committee that coal mining towns did not have “alternative employment” and that many of the workers would out of jobs if solar panels and windmills were to become the only energy resources. McKinley stated that:
“You have to understand these are small towns, they don’t have choices. So I guess they have 3 choices if they have any: one is be underemployed, go from 85,000 job to 20,000; they could commute hundreds of miles to find some other job some place else and leave their families; or the third option I guess is relocate…are these the best options we have?”