[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 96 (Tuesday, June 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H4423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        A TALE OF TWO ECONOMIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. TIPTON. Madam Speaker, across our country, we are seeing a tale 
of two economies, to where there are pockets of prosperity, but 
unfortunately, through many of our rural communities, we continue to 
see challenges.
  For the first time since we have been keeping records, we are seeing 
more small businesses shut down than there are now business startups. 
Businesses across this country are suffering under the burden of $2 
trillion--$2 trillion--in regulatory costs.
  Why is this important? It is because we are seeing now the cost of a 
loaf of bread, the clothes that we buy for our children to be able to 
go back to school, and that gallon of milk costs more via taxation by 
regulation that is impacting our ability to create jobs.
  When we move into my district in Colorado, composed of rural 
communities, 29 counties of Colorado's 64, 54,000 miles of the State of 
Colorado, many of our counties are still suffering in double-digit 
unemployment when it comes down to the real number.
  Two counties that I would like to be able to address specifically 
this evening are being specifically challenged, Moffat County and Rio 
Blanco County, on the west slope of Colorado, one of the most beautiful 
places that anyone can visit.
  Residing there and creating jobs is something called the Colowyo 
Mine, a coal mine. We encourage people to be able to come and see a 
coal mine with good technology, providing affordable electricity, 
providing jobs, and providing also clear blue skies with that 
technology. Those are currently being challenged.
  There was a court ruling recently that came out, one that was in 
response to a suit that was brought by an extreme environmental group 
that challenged the 2007 issuance of the Office of Surface Mining 
permit for the Colowyo Mine to be able to operate.
  That is challenging now 200 jobs because the court has ruled that a 
new NEPA process, a supplemental process, must be performed within 120 
days, an extremely short period of time.
  Those 200 families, 200 families that are relying on that job to be 
able to provide for their children, to be able to support that 
community, are now feeling threatened by policies not only in terms of 
the NEPA process, but now by the ruling of the Court as well in 
response to a suit filed by this extreme environmental group.
  Here is the real challenge that we face. We need the Secretary of the 
Interior to respond. These families' jobs cannot wait. Being able to 
put food on the table for their children cannot wait for this process 
to be able to play out.
  We encourage the Secretary to deploy all necessary resources to be 
able to respond to that emergency NEPA process, to be able to get it 
done in that 120-day period of time, or to be able to also look at the 
propriety of challenging that ruling by going in and filing an appeal.
  Are jobs and the economy important? They certainly are in my 
district. Those families that are relying on good-paying coal jobs, 
families that love where they live, love their environment, and support 
their community are now seeing their livelihoods, their future being 
challenged.
  We encourage the Secretary, on behalf of American families, families 
in my district that are struggling to be able to succeed or to just be 
able to provide for themselves, to be able to respond in a timely 
manner, to be able to address this so that we can secure those jobs and 
secure affordable electricity as well.
  Coal is often maligned, but we see that it can be done right--Craig, 
Colorado, blue skies and a coal-fired power plant. There is an 
opportunity for us to be able to create a win-win.
  If you care about senior citizens that are on fixed incomes, if you 
care about young families right now that are struggling to be able to 
pay the bills and to be able to provide for their young children, we 
are seeing that taxation via regulation coming out of policy.
  I think it is very important that we preserve the jobs. Let's work 
with all of the above. That has been embraced in my district. We have 
seen the opportunity to be able to create hydroelectric power, wind, 
solar, geothermal, also to responsibly develop oil, gas, oil shale, and 
coal.
  Right now, the problem for the people in the Third District, 
specifically in Rio Blanco and Moffat Counties, is urgent. They are 
families that I have talked to. I have looked in their eyes. They will 
do it responsibly. They want to be able to do it well, not only for the 
community, but for their families as well.
  It is very important that we are also mindful that those jobs impact 
others. These are the families that support the local grocery store, 
the local hardware store; these are the families that provide for the 
health of that community.
  Madam Speaker, we would call upon the Secretary of the Interior to 
respond to American families whose jobs are currently being threatened, 
deploy the necessary resources to be able to carry out that 
supplemental NEPA, get the job done in time to protect those jobs.
  If that isn't possible, then go ahead and explore that proprietary 
notion of filing an appeal, to make sure that we get a stay and keep 
those jobs moving, because the message that my folks out of Craig, out 
of Rio Blanco County want to be able to communicate is their bills 
won't stop. Their children's needs will not be met unless we see a 
response out of the Department of the Interior to be able to stand up 
for good-paying coal jobs in western Colorado.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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