Gov. Justice supports President Trump’s rollback of Obama’s war on coal
6/19/2019
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CHARLESTON, WV – Today, officials from President Donald J. Trump’s administration signed the all-new Affordable Clean Energy Rule, an Environmental Protection Agency policy that will put an end to over-reaching Obama-era regulations on emissions from coal-fired power plants that crippled West Virginia’s economy and the lives of its people.
In response, Gov. Jim Justice issued the following statement:
“I’ve said time and again that all of our hard-working families in West Virginia have never had a better friend in the White House than they do with President Trump. And today, it’s truer than ever.
Today’s news that we’re finally ending Obama’s ridiculous war on coal is an absolute relief for our economy and for our people.
The Affordable Clean Energy Rule will give power where it belongs: back to the states. Places like California may be able to survive entirely on solar and wind and that’s great. But here in West Virginia, we live and die by the coal we mine and the oil and natural gas we produce. The Obama restrictions were so ridiculous and out of touch with the reality of life here in West Virginia, that thousands of people lost the lifestyle and standard of living they were accustomed to. This economic hopelessness in West Virginia led to a drug epidemic that we are still trying to recover from.
Everything I’ve done since I walked in the door as governor has been to try to bring our state back to life and bring us out of 50th. We’ve built incredible momentum in our economy, going from bankruptcy to the 2nd fastest revenue growth rate of any state in the country, all in just a couple of years.
But this historic move by my good friend, President Trump, unlocks even more of our great state’s incredible potential. People who lost everything will finally be able to go back to work and put more money in their pockets and more food on the table.
We still have a lot of people that we need to help. But this is going to help us, in every way, wipe the slate clean from the Obama years and springboard us into the future.”
Contact Information
Jordan Damron, Jordan.L.Damron@wv.gov