From the Pittsburgh Business Times
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to lift regulations and boost the coal, natural gas and steel industries during a speech Thursday in downtown Pittsburgh.
Trump appeared at the end of the two-day Shale Insight Conference, sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition as well as the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association and the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, and held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
“Producing more American energy is a central part of my plan to make America wealthy again,” Trump told the conference. “I will lift restrictions on American energy and allow this wealth to pour into our communities right here in the state of Pennsylvania.”
His platform at the two-day conference promised to produce 500,000 new jobs annually, increase GDP by more than $100 billion each year and increase the annual wages by more than $30 billion. The energy industry is a key player in this plan, Trump said.
Trump said overregulation is costing the U.S. economy more than $2 trillion a year. He criticized opponent Hillary Clinton‘s stand on energy policy.
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Clinton “wants to put the coal mines out of work, end hydraulic fracturing in almost all places, and restrict or ban energy production,” Trump said. “… This will produce devastation for states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and so many others where shale oil and shale energy, and coal and coal production, are critical parts of the economy.”
He claimed the war on energy will cost the U.S. economy $5 trillion.
“It’s going to be worse under her than under President Obama,” Trump said.
Trump portrayed himself as the option to save the coal industry and said he would conduct a top-down review of all anti-coal industry regulations from the Obama administration, including the Climate Action Plan and the Clean Power Plan.
“I will stop the war on coal,” Trump said.
Noting Pittsburgh’s place in the steel industry, Trump also said he would renegotiate trade deals.
“We’re going to bring back our steel jobs, and we’re going to rebuild this nation,” Trump said.
