President Trump: Putting Coal Country Back to Work

LETTING COAL COUNTRY WORK AGAIN: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed legislation (House Joint Resolution 38) to stop the costly “Stream Protection Rule” from further harming coal workers and the communities that depend on them.

• H.J. Res. 38 blocks an overly burdensome regulation from harming the coal industry.
  • The regulation was expected to reduce coal production, leading to fewer coal jobs across the country.
  • The blocked regulation threatened the coal industry with millions of dollars in compliance costs.
  • Complying with the regulation would have put an unsustainable financial burden on small mines, most of which are in the Appalachian Basin.
• The blocked regulation would have duplicated existing regulations already in place to protect Americans.

GIVING COAL COUNTRY RELIEF: Since 2009, the coal industry has declined, leaving workers and communities without a lifeline.

• Since January 2009, the coal mining industry has lost over 36,000 jobs without any relief in sight.
• From 2009 to 2015, coal production declined by over 177,000,000 tons across the country.
• From 2009 to 2015, over 600 coal mines closed.

A PROMISE TO COAL WORKERS: Before President Trump’s inauguration, he promised coal workers he would support them and reverse the harmful actions of the past administration.

• November 21, 2016, the Trump-Pence Transition Team pledged to “end the war on coal” and review harmful regulations created under the Obama Administration.
• September 22, 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump called out harmful coal regulations: “I will rescind the coal mining lease moratorium, the excessive Interior Department stream rule, and conduct a top-down review of all anti-coal regulations issued by the Obama Administration.”
• August 8, 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump pledged to the American people: “We will put our coal miners and steel workers back to work.”

GETTING GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE WAY: President Trump has been steadfast in his commitment to reducing the regulatory burden on all Americans, their pocketbooks, and their businesses.

• President Trump has required that for every new Federal regulation, two existing regulations be eliminated.
• President Trump has placed a moratorium on all new regulations by executive departments and agencies that are not compelled by Congress or public safety.
• President Trump directed the Commerce Department to streamline Federal permitting processes for domestic manufacturing and to reduce regulatory burdens on domestic manufacturers.
• President Trump signed an Executive Order expediting the environmental review and approval processes for domestic infrastructure projects.
• President Trump signed legislation to eliminate a costly regulation that threatened to put domestic extraction companies and their employees at an unfair disadvantage.
• President Trump directed the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a full review of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to ensure associated, burdensome regulations receive proper scrutiny.
• President Trump ordered re-examination of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, to make certain that it does not harm Americans as they save for retirement.