July 30, 2013

Manchin Statement on EPA Administrator's First Speech

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) issued the following statement after Gina McCarthy’s first speech as the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I completely agree with Ms. McCarthy that clean energy technology will spur economic growth. Clean coal technology already is being used and it’s having a direct impact on our environment and our economy. In the last ten years, U.S. coal emissions have been reduced by 50 percent and coal-fired electric plants are expected to spend at least $80 billion by 2015 on new technologies to further reduce emissions. These investments would have an even greater impact on our economy and environment if we had a partner instead of an adversary in the federal government. Our own Energy Department says coal will generate nearly 36 percent of our electricity through 2040, so it just makes common sense to me, the people of West Virginia and the American people that, while we invest in renewable and biofuel technology, we also invest in making our most abundant natural resources cleaner.”

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