Sen. Mitch McConnell: Legislation Coming to Undo Obama Coal Rule

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed on Monday to introduce legislation to reverse an Obama administration rule that would affect the jobs of coal miners.

The Interior Department introduced the Stream Protection Rule earlier Monday in an effort to reduce contamination of streams and waterways from mountaintop coal mining.

But McConnell, who represents the coal-producing state of Kentucky, called the rule "part of the administration's plan to demolish these coal communities right now and long after the president has left office," according to a statement posted on his official website.

President Barack Obama's "eight-year war on coal has wrecked the lifeblood of the economy and the livelihoods of coal country workers and their families," McConnell said.

"And this desperate, last-minute attempt to cement that effort against American energy and American jobs is just the latest example."

Obama's anti-coal regulations already are having a "devastating impact" on coal jobs, he said.

McConnell said he will work with the incoming Donald Trump administration to provide relief to coal communities and miners who have been left without jobs as a result on Obama's "War on Coal."

A resolution of disapproval will be filled under the Congressional Review Act when Congress meets in January, McConnell said.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell praised the rule on Monday, The Hill reports.

"The responsible rule released today represents a modern and balanced approach to meeting the nation's energy needs," she said.

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