Romney Energy Policy Would Heavily Back Coal Industry

In an editorial published in the Columbus Dispatch on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney outlined his energy policy that includes a resounding endorsement of the coal industry.Last year, if you recall, the former Massachusetts governor first visited Kentucky for a fundraiser hosted by coal company owner Joe Craft, an influential political player who is known as the "face of coal" in the commonwealth. Romney also named Craft one of his campaign’s Kentucky State Finance Chairs.Romney says he will modernize the federal government's "outdated" environmental laws and stop what he calls Environmental Protection Agency’s practice of "imaginary benefits to justify onerous burdens.""In my administration, coal will not be a four-letter word. Instead, we will applaud the industry’s success in consistently expanding electricity output while reducing pollution," he says. "And I will respect states’ proven ability to regulate fracking, rather than sending federal bureaucrats to take control."