NEWS RELEASE

February 4, 2010

Mongiardo Opposes Plan To Cut Coal Subsidies

Cutting $2.3 Billion in Coal Subsidies Could Cost Kentucky Jobs and
Drive Up Electric Rates

FRANKFORT --- Saying "to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we should be increasing production of coal, not reducing support for it," Lt. Governor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Mongiardo today called the Obama Administration's proposed $2.3 billion in budget cuts for the coal industry "wrong and shortsighted".

On Monday, the Obama Administration proposed $2.3 billion in cuts in coal subsidies over ten years, including specifically cutting support for "exploration and development."

"With our nation becoming increasingly reliant on foreign oil, cutting support for developing and exploring for coal makes no sense. The proposed cuts in coal subsidies will most certainly cost jobs and could devastate coal communities in eastern and western Kentucky," said Mongiardo, who grew up in the Eastern Kentucky coalfields.

In his jobs plan, Mongiardo has said Kentucky should be a national leader in developing energy sources for the nation like coal-to-fuels and biomass.

"While we must develop new alternative energies like nuclear, solar and wind, the fact is that Kentucky coal plays a much greater role in  supplying our energy needs, no matter how politically incorrect that might be to say in some Washington circles. With the tremendous amount of coal reserves we have, it's time to end the bias against coal in Washington and figure out how to maximize this tremendous energy asset for the benefit of the nation," said Mongiardo.

Of all the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in Kentucky, Mongiardo has been the most outspoken and vocal critic of the Obama Administration's and Congress' attempt to pass a national energy bill that punishes coal producing states like Kentucky.  Mongiardo calls "Cap and Trade" legislation "nothing more than a huge new energy tax on Kentucky coal that will devastate Kentucky's manufacturing base and significantly increase every Kentucky consumer's electric bill."  Mongiardo described EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson's announcement that the EPA intended to unilaterally and selectively enforce carbon emission standards on some industries without waiting for Congressional action as being "outrageous" and "ill conceived."