If West Virginia Congressman Nick J. Rahall will jump out of an airplane to show his support for the coal industry, you think he’s going to think twice about a little thing like joining a congressional caucus?
Of course not.
And indeed, Rahall’s office just announced that the congressman from Southern West Virginia has joined out state’s other two House members — Democrat Alan Mollohan and Republican Shelley Moore Capito — in joining the “Coal Caucus.”
As described by Capito’s office, the purpose of the group is to “provide a voice for coal communities in Congress.” Not wanting to be outdone, Mollohan — who previously served as lawyer for CONSOL Energy — also joined.
Rahall noted that one of his “earliest initiatives” was to organize the first-ever Congressional Coal Group and said, “As the father of that inaugural Congressional caucus for coal, I am happy to help renew a coalition that promotes coal, American’s most abundant natural energy resource.”
Rahall also must have gotten quite a lesson from the Army skydiving team he jumped with, because he’s sounding like some sort of military commander, defending the industry against the Obama administration’s “war on coal” –
This effort can help those of us in leadership, especially in the majority, rally the troops and watch our flank by sharing information on issues critical to coal and coal mining jobs. I encouraged my fellow coal-state Members to move forward with a revived caucus and joined them to substantiate the cause.
It’s also worth noting that another of the Coal Caucus members is Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., who is the brother of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (above), whose agency — through the Office of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation — is supposed to be regulating the coal industry.
Subscribe to the Coal Tattoo
As described by Capito’s office, the purpose of the group is to “provide a voice for coal communities in Congress.” This is what we call spin – put a pretty face on a group dedicated to Big Coal.
Rahall notes “I am happy to help renew a coalition that promotes coal,…” Clearly, Nick Joe sees no reason to spin – he’s happy to call it what it is, and makes no secret at all of where his allegiance lies. And its obviously not with “coal communities.”
Good to see our congressional delegation joining together in this caucus to fight for what has; put food on the table, paid for mortgage and car payments, put clothing on backs, sent the kids of miners to college, provided so much in severance tax and so much more. I’m convinced coal will continue to be a vital part of America’s energy future and the coal industry jobs and those directly and indirectly related to mining will be around for years to come. Thank you Congressman Mollohan & Rahall and Congresswoman Capito for not only voting against the Cap & Trade legislation but joining together to fight for West Virginia.
[...] Blogs @ The Charleston Gazette – » Rep. Rahall joins Capito, Mollohan in ‘Coal Caucus’ blogs.wvgazette.com – view page – cached If West Virginia Congressman Nick J. Rahall will jump out of an airplane to show his support for the coal industry, you think he’s going to think twice about a little thing like joining a congressional caucus? [...]