August 13, 2017 - To punish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its alleged “war on coal,” Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., succeeded in cutting $528 million from the pollution-fighting agency’s budget in a House appropriations bill.

However, at the same time, Jenkins performed a valuable service to West Virginia by rescuing the National Energy Technology Laboratory at Morgantown and Pittsburgh, where more than 600 researchers seek ways to reduce pollution from fossil fuels.

After other Congress members sought to revoke the lab’s funding, Jenkins induced the House Appropriations Committee to approve the lab’s $666 million budget, with a provision forbidding the Department of Energy to halt the lab or move it somewhere else.

If science someday allows “clean coal” to be attained, it will be a blessing for the Mountain State. It could curb the relentless decline of Appalachia’s coal industry. Jenkins is fighting for that goal. 

Evan Jenkins