The Republican Party of Kentucky released the following statement and background regarding the Obama administration’s new EPA regulations and the Grimes campaign’s relationship to the National Resource Defense Council, who crafted the anti-coal policy.
“Alison Lundergan Grimes may call herself a pro-coal candidate, but those words mean nothing when her campaign is being funded by the group responsible for crafting the job-killing EPA regulations and her candidacy is just part of Barack Obama and Harry Reid’s plan to force their anti-Kentucky, anti-coal agenda on our Commonwealth,” said Kentucky GOP spokeswoman Kelsey Cooper.
BACKGROUND:
Kentucky Coal Leader Says Obama Administration’s Plan Will “Severely Harm The Domestic Coal Market…Cause More Hardship Across Kentucky” “What the president is doing is going to severely harm the domestic coal market, which is going to create more hardship across Kentucky and especially in areas like Eastern Kentucky already at Ground Zero for what’s happening to our industry,” said Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association. Kentucky relied on coal for about 93 percent of its electrical generation last year. Bissett said the new rule is “going to have to have a tremendous economic impact on Kentucky.” (Lexington Herald Leader, 5/29/14)
The NRDC “Helped Shape The Obama Administration’s Plan” to Kill Kentucky Coal The NRDC’s proposals helped shape the Obama administration’s plan, which is scheduled to go out for public comment before becoming final next year. (Lexington Herald Leader, 5/29/14)
Frances Beinecke Is The President Of The NRDC. (“Frances Beinecke, NRDC President,” NRDC.org, Accessed 5/28/14)
Frances Beinecke And Her Husband Each Donated $1000 to Alison Lundergan Grimes. (FEC Report, Accessed 5/28/14)
NRDC “Works Closely With The White House And EPA On Climate Policy”. (John Kemp, “COLUMN-U.S. EPA must set realistic emissions limits for coal: Kemp,” Reuters, 12/6/13)
Frances Beinecke: “Americans… Have Paid A Steep Price” For Our Use Of Coal. “Coal has a long history in this country, and it continues to supply more than a third of our electricity. Americans, though, have paid a steep price for our use of this energy source, which has ravaged our environment and undermined our health. (Frances Beinecke, “Questions about energy, ‘war on coal’ mantra,” Herald-Leader, 10/10/12)
New Chamber Of Commerce Analysis Says EPA Regulations Will Cost $50 Billion Annually. “The country’s largest business lobby warned Wednesday that the Obama administration’s proposal to impose new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants could eclipse $50 billion in annual costs through 2030. (Benjamin Goad, “Chamber: Costs of EPA climate rule could top $50 billion a year,” The Hill, 5/28/14)
Up To 224,000 Jobs Will Be Lost Through 2030. “The Chamber’s study says as many as 224,000 jobs would be eliminated annually through 2030 under the proposal. (Benjamin Goad, “Chamber: Costs of EPA climate rule could top $50 billion a year,” The Hill, 5/28/14)
