Sam Graves: Obama Administration out to bankrupt coal companies

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

Missouri has a long and proud history of producing coal. In fact, the Show Me state was the first state West of the Mississippi to produce coal for commercial use. When it comes to the generation of electricity in the United States, about half of that power is provided by coal.

The coal industry is booming and the United States is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal. According to the Energy Information Administration, there is enough coal to last for the next 200 years.

Most of that coal, however, is headed to Asia. American demand for coal has been slowed down by costly regulations from the federal government. Missouri sits on large reserves of coal, which is a cheap and abundant source of energy.

The current administration has said they want to make building a coal plant so expensive that it will bankrupt the company. Recently, President Obama and the EPA announced that they will seek to force a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions on coal power plants by 2030. With a flurry of new regulations, they are moving toward that goal.

I believe we need to be pursuing an all-the-above strategy regarding energy. Coal is a part of the solution, along with natural gas, renewable fuels, nuclear, conservation and increased oil exploration. Instead of trying to bankrupt energy companies, we need to embrace all of the options.

When it comes to easing our energy crunch, there are no easy gimmicks. We must continue to increase the amount of American energy by using our own natural resources.