Mitt Romney is no friend of the coal industry.
In 2003, he said,"Coal-fired power plants kill people. If the choice is between dirty power plants or protecting the health of the people, there is no choice in my mind, I will always come down on the side of public health."
Romney has praised the Paul Ryan budget, which drastically cuts funding for research and development technologies, some funds of which would be used for clean coal technology research.
The Obama administration under the Recovery Act has provided $3.4 billion to expand and accelerate the development of clean coal technology. The Ryan budget reverses that initiative.
The coal industry is doing OK under the Obama administration. Employment in that industry reached a 15-year high in 2011, a year that under several safety initiatives witnessed the second fewest deaths in that industry's history.
Romney will maintain subsidies to oil companies at the expense of the coal industry. Electing him will adversely affect the coal industry.
Melvin J. Fees
Cresson
