SOMERSET, KY - U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) released the following statement regarding the announcement that Lisa Jackson is resigning from her post as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after a nearly four-year tenure.

Rogers questioned Jackson on several occasions about the EPA’s “war on coal” in Appalachia and consequently cut the EPA’s budget below 1998 levels while he served as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

“News of Lisa Jackson’s resignation from the EPA is like a late Christmas gift to the Appalachian coal fields.” said Rogers.

“Under her charge, the war on coal raged as the EPA overstepped Congress year after year, and her refusal to approve mining permits has cost our region thousands of jobs and further disrupted America’s economy,” he said.

“I hope her successor at EPA will understand the importance of coal and preserving our jobs with sensible environmental regulations,” continued Rogers. “It’s time to get our coal miners back to work by embracing domestic energy solutions that will shore up our country’s economy for the long term.”