Since taking the oath of office, Obama has made it clear he is no friend to the coal industry. A majority of his party in Congress also are anti-coal. Their actions have been very detrimental to the coal industry in Kentucky and other coal-producing states.

Their actions are crafted to play to their liberal environmental base.

They don’t care about the number of jobs and how people who depend on coal for their livelihood would be affected, their mission is simple: Shut down the coal industry.

One only has to look at the announcement this week of new greenhouse gas emission standards. The regulations would require power emissions of carbon and other greenhouses gases to be 30 percent less than 2005 levels by 2030. About 40 percent of the nation’s power comes from coal, which by nature produces more carbon emissions. It is estimated that 93 percent of Kentuckians rely on coal for electricity. The EPA’s new rules to regulate carbon emissions from Kentucky’s more than 15 coal-fired power plants amount to a massive energy tax. 

Seven thousand coal jobs have been lost since 2009 when this president took office. Eastern Kentucky alone has seen a 3 percent loss in coal jobs in the first quarter of 2014.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates the new regulations will cost $50 billion a year and 220,000 jobs. 

While Obama and his environmental buddies mess with people’s lives, it is good to know we have people such as U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., fighting against these over-the-top regulations. 

McConnell has been one the of the biggest defenders against President Barack Obama’s “war on coal.” And make no mistake about, it these new regulations are a direct attack on coal.

On Tuesday, McConnell filed legislation called the Coal Country Protection Act in response to the regulations. The legislation would block Obama’s proposed regulations on existing power plants unless appropriate agencies can prove it will not eliminate jobs, cost the economy, increase electricity prices or reduce electricity reliability.

McConnell called the new regulations a sequel to “Obamacare.”

McConnell is right on target. He also is correct that Obama wants Americans to believe that these regulations won’t harm working, middle-class families.

It is worth noting that Obama developed the regulations without having a hearing in coal country or taking into account how the regulations would affect the industry and its employees.

That’s how this administration has operated from day one. They believe they know better than the men and women work in coal mines every day.

McConnell’s legislation was blocked by none other than the biggest obstructionist in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who is on record as saying “coal makes us sick.” 

Why not give it a vote Mr. Reid?

Reid’s obstruction isn’t going to help people such as U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is facing a tough re-election battle in November, or other Democratic members of Congress in coal-producing states.

On Thursday, McConnell invited the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, to hold a hearing in eastern Kentucky to discuss the latest job-killing regulations on existing coal-fired power plants proposed by President Obama. The EPA announced it will hold four public hearings on the proposed regulations and, once again, eastern Kentucky was left off the list.

This is very telling about their cold shoulder to Kentuckians.

Obama’s “war on coal” is a sham that is intended to kill an industry that provides jobs to hundreds of thousands of people, many in Kentucky.

We know Sen. McConnell will not take Obama’s actions or Reid’s obstructionism idly and hope that he keeps fighting the good fight against these unfair and painful regulations that will cost jobs and increase utility costs in Kentucky.