[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10998]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            BACKPACK BUDDIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, last week I had the 
pleasure of meeting with Doug Erwin. Doug is an extraordinary member of 
our West Virginia community who started the charitable organization 
called Backpack Buddies.
  In the summer, Backpack Buddies gives meal supplements to children in 
elementary, middle, and high schools who received free or reduced 
lunches during the school year. Oftentimes, the meal that they receive 
at school is the only food that they eat all day.
  Doug became concerned about what these children did for food during 
the summer. That is when Doug started Backpack Buddies.
  For the last 3 years, communities in my district in the great State 
of West Virginia have come together to raise money to provide food to 
these children so they can get the extra help they need during the 
summer. Backpack Buddies is serving, now, over 1,600 children in 
Putnam, Boone, Cabell, and Kanawha Counties this summer.
  I would like to thank Doug, the business leaders in our community, 
and the volunteers who help make Backpack Buddies possible.


                              War on Coal

  Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. On a separate issue, Mr. Speaker, 
several weeks ago, President Obama sent two of his top cronies in his 
war on coal, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Office of Surface 
Mining Director Joseph Pizarchik, to my home State of West Virginia.
  The apparent purpose of their visit was to seek input for a new Obama 
regulation that is estimated to kill 80,000 coal jobs, but their rule 
had already been submitted for final review. They are not interested in 
hearing from West Virginians about the impact of their policies. 
Instead, they are checking a box.
  It is clear that nothing will stop this President from trying to 
implement his radical environmental agenda, and I will continue to do 
everything in my power to fight back on behalf of all West Virginians. 
That is why, this year, I introduced H.R. 1644, the STREAM Act, which 
will stop the President's antimining regulations. I also included a 
provision in the House budget resolution that calls for defunding that 
regulation, and I will work with the appropriators to make sure it is 
not funded.
  I hope my colleagues in this Chamber will join me in this fight.

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