HARRISBURG (April 19, 2017) As regulatory burdens threaten to cripple an already-struggling coal industry, Senator Wayne Langerholc, Jr. (R-35) has joined the Senate’s Coal Caucus to help revive coal as an affordable and reliable source of energy.
The Coal Caucus, led by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Williamsport) and John Yudichak (D-Nanticoke) is a bipartisan effort that included 20 members of the Senate last session.
Senator Langerholc noted the importance of the coal industry to the Commonwealth’s economy, miners, their families, and the smalltown communities in which they live and work.
“The coal industry adds nearly $4 billion in economic benefit to Pennsylvania, directly or indirectly employs more than 30,000 people, and continues to generate nearly one-third of the energy in the Commonwealth,” Sen. Langerholc said. “We need to speak with one voice to protect the economic value that coal adds to our communities. The 35th Senatorial District has a rich coal mining history that has provided family sustaining jobs and low-cost reliable energy. Coal has the potential to power our economy and nation for decades to come, as it has done for so many years and will continue to do for years to come.”
Sen. Langerholc also serves on the Appropriations, Transportation, Aging and Youth, Game and Fisheries, Judiciary, and Local Government Committees.
“Protecting the environment and promoting business are not mutually exclusive,” Langerholc said. “Working with the public, coal miners, public officials at all levels, and experts in the field, we can find ways to advance the coal industry, develop new technologies, and reduce consumer demand on foreign fuels.”
The reorganizational meeting of the Coal Caucus will be held today.
CONTACT: Diane McNaughton
(717) 787-6725 dmmcnaughton@pasen.gov