WASHINGTON, DC — Although not surprised, both West Virginia Congressman David McKinley of the first Congressional District and Alex Mooney of the second district said they were frustrated by what President Barrack Obama talked about in Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address.
“Are we better off than we were seven years ago and is the world safer?” said McKinley about what he was thinking as he listened to Obama’s words. “I didn’t hear that.”
“Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline, is peddling fiction,” Obama told the joint session of Congress.
McKinley bristled at the suggestion the economy was strong.
“We’ve had a 40 percent drop off in coal production. You can’t tell me the economy is doing well in West Virginia,” he said.
Obama’s offerings during the speech didn’t indicate any change of heart toward the coal industry.
“We’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future, especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels,” said Obama. “That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet.”
“He mentioned at least three different times in the speech, anything other than coal, basically anti-coal,” said Congressman Mooney. “He didn’t just mention it once, but he kept going back to it. Obviously he’s very proud of his war on coal.”
The President suggested his one regret was the increased rancor and the inability to compromise and work together across party lines. McKinley suggested that wasof his own doing.
“The House and Senate can act, but when we get over to his side where he threatens a veto it kills legislation,” McKinley said. “What about the compromise in listening to the impact regulation is having?”