HARRISBURG — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement about the War on Coal’s effect on the Pennsylvania economy.
“The War on Coal is costing hundreds of Pennsylvanians their jobs and endangering the livelihoods of thousands more,” Gleason said. “The War on Coal is putting the jobs of every coal worker at risk. Just last week, 500 workers in our Commonwealth received pink slips because President Barack Obama is choosing ideology over our economy.
“Now, Tom Wolf wants to bring the national energy tax known as cap-and-trade to Pennsylvania. How many jobs are President Obama and Tom Wolf willing to sacrifice to appease their ultra-liberal backers? Instead of planning for coal’s future in our energy economy, why does he refer to coal as ‘a thing of the past’ when discussing it?
“While President Obama and Tom Wolf continue to pursue their liberal agenda, Governor Corbett will keep fighting for more jobs.”
Last week, Alpha Natural Resources announced their Emerald Mine in Waynesboro was closing, costing 500 coal workers their jobs. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the company’s spokesman cited “restrictive federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations” as a cause for the closure. (Pete Zapadka, “Coal mine closing to slash 500 jobs in Greene County,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/8/2014)
At an event sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council earlier this week, Tom Wolf stated, “One day, the carbon-based energy system that we rely on now will be a thing of the past.” (Tom Wolf Comments, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, 6/13/2014)
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