U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers recently spoke at the Big Sandy Area Development District and had this to say on the state of Appalachia's battle with the EPA:

"In the last 18 months, Kentucky has lost 5,700 coal jobs and all but 200 of those were Eastern Kentucky coal miners. I have grilled leaders of the EPA time and again, slashing the federal agency's budget with unprecedented cuts along the way, yet this administration has been relentless in its attack on coal. We must be diligent in helping these laid-off miners find employment and work to get our coal mines back on line. And Congress needs to pass the Coal Jobs Protection Act."