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US House race foes attack coal plan of Obama
When it comes to coal, one of the leading industries in the 6th Congressional District, both incumbent Bill Johnson, a Republican, and Charlie Wilson, a Democrat, are critical of the president’s policies.
“This administration needs to be more forward-thinking with coal instead of obstinate and totally against it,” said Wilson of St. Clairsville about President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat. “I don’t agree with the president. I’d like to see them back off from being so strong against coal. It’s affordable energy. We need to make sure coal continues to be a key source of energy.”
Johnson of Marietta said the Obama administration wants to put the coal industry out of business.
But neither candidate is impressed with the other’s record on protecting the coal industry.
Wilson said his support of coal is evident by his June 2009 vote against cap and trade, legislation that would have reduced carbon emissions from coal plants, and thus would have included additional regulations and make it harder to produce coal.
“I stood up against my party on cap and trade,” he said. “Coal is the pathway to energy independence.”
The bill passed the House by 219-212 vote but never made it out of the Senate.
Johnson said then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat who pushed for cap and trade, gave Wilson “a pass” on the bill, and his November general election opponent “did nothing for the industry itself.”
The 6th District includes southern Mahoning County, all of Columbiana County and runs along the eastern border of the state taking in 10 other counties. Congressional redistricting largely kept the current make-up of the 6th intact, but added five other counties. The new district boundaries take effect next year.
Wilson was a two-term incumbent who lost the 2010 election to Johnson, and is challenging Johnson this fall to regain the seat.
Johnson and Wilson agree that drilling for natural gas and oil, particularly in the Marcellus and Utica shales, holds a great deal of promise for the district.
They also agree that it’s vital to train Ohioans for gas and oil jobs.
But they disagree on oversight of the industry.
“It must be done safely as to not harm the people in this area,” Wilson said. “It’s a time for strong leadership. We need to make sure it’s safe.”
Johnson said, “We need to keep the federal government out of the way [of the gas and oil industry]. The state has regulated the oil and gas industry since 1965 and is doing a great job. I don’t think the federal government should play a role.”
The only time for federal intervention is in matters of “public health, public safety and national defense,” he said.
Also, he said, there is no evidence of oil and gas drilling contaminating the air or water.
“That’s just a scare tactic by environmentalists,” Johnson said.
On behalf of Wilson, J.R. Starrett, his campaign manager, said of Johnson’s position that there would be “no way to determine the radical regulations that would be applied on this industry by each of our neighboring states. This position would only stunt the growth of this industry in our area by creating mountains of red tape for the energy companies that are currently speculating in” the district.