Today, Appalachian Voices’ Director of Programs, Dr. Matt Wasson, is testifying before the Congressional Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

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The hearing begins at 10 a.m. EST, and you can view the hearing homepage and watch the LIVE video feed here.

The majority of this committee has been pushing a coal-industry agenda this session, and we don’t expect this hearing to be much different. The topic is “Effect of the President’s FY 2013 Budget and Legislative Proposals for the Office of Surface Mining on Private Sector Job Creation, Domestic Energy Production, State Programs and Deficit Reduction,” and discussion will center around the Stream Protection Rule.

Matt Wasson will submit testimony as to why a strong Stream Protection Rule is necessary, and will counter industry disinformation about its effect on jobs and domestic energy protection. Rather, he will show data supporting the fact that previous oversight by the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection and the Office of Surface Mining have had no negative impact on jobs or domestic energy prices.

His testimony argues that pro-industry predictions of the impact of the Stream Protection Rule are based on faulty assumptions and non-existent data.

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