WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two Logan County coal miners appeared before Congress Wednesday afternoon in effort to put a face on the so-called war on coal.
Jordan Bridges of Logan and Chapmanville resident Douglas Killen II testified before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee to talk about how the EPA and other regulations of the Obama administration have negatively impacted the coal industry and their jobs. West Virginia 3rd District Congressman Evan Jenkins, a member of the committee, talked about the importance of having coal miners appear on Capitol Hill.
“I’m using my role as an appropriator to seize an opportunity to bring coal miners to Washington and talk to the Appropriations Committee about the war on coal and how it’s affecting their families,” he said.
Bridges, who operates heavy machinery at a mine in Holden, discussed how the cutback on his hours has caused him and his family to struggle.
“They need to understand what it’s like for us; we suffer every day,” he said. “My hours have been cut back tremendously. It’s really scary because I got a small family I have to support. And I don’t think they really care or understand the devastating impact that they have on us.”
Bridges explained that he purchased a nicer home for himself and his family, but the cut in his hours to less than 44 a week has caused him to lose over $1,000 a week, making it difficult to make ends meet. Congressman Jenkins gave a good idea of what to expect from the speeches and the coming weeks.
“They are going to hear loud and clear from Jordan and Doug about the impact,” he explained. “And we are going to be rolling up our sleeves and working on the EPA budget in the weeks ahead. And I will be sitting there pounding my fist to say we simply cannot, will not fund the war on coal.”
Jenkins was confident that that the meetings should have an impact, and insisted that they have to “get the overreach of the current administration off our community coal miners’ backs.”