Support members taking action in DC

UPDATE, 9 pm June 6th: 

Seven Kentuckians protesting mountaintop mining were arrested today in Congressman Hal Rogers' office for taking part in a non-violent a day of action called Appalachia Rising. In all, 22 citizens were arrested in congressional offices from West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. Kentuckians arrested included Stanley Sturgill, Teri Blanton, Tress Spencer, Mary Love, Carey Henson and Erika Skaggs. As of a few moments ago, all have been released. 

Photos and more details are available on the Facebook page of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and at appalachiarising.org.

Original post from this morning:

KFTC members in Washington, DC are participating in a sit-in at the office of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers this morning.

They have been in the nation's capital since Saturday participating in the Week in Washington to Stop Mountaintop Removal. Today is a Day of Action coordinated by Appalachia Rising that involves a short rally at 11 a.m. at the Upper Senate Park and sit-ins at the offices of several members of Congress from areas where coal is mined whose positions and voting records are particularly troublesome.

That, of course, includes Rep. Rogers who represents Kentucky's Fifth Congressional district. Those eastern Kentucky counties are number one in the nation in the amount of mountaintop removal and water pollution and nearly dead last in variety of quality of life indicators.

Members arrived at Rogers' office about 10 a.m. this morning. They hope he will meet with them and agree to three demands:

• an immediate stop to mountaintop removal coal mining
• a face-to-face meeting between Rogers and concerned citizens of Kentucky
• a commitment to the diversification of Kentucky's economy, in particular re-directing coal subsidies toward energy efficiency, renewable energies and re-training for former miners.

Rogers not only is a staunch defender of mountaintop removal and a denier of its health and economics consequences, he has led the charge by House Republicans and some Democrats to dismantle the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

He also has used his position as chair of the House Appropriations Committee to push cuts to child nutrition, job training, college affordability and variety of other programs that have a great impact on the quality of life in his district.

Stanley Sturgill, a retired coal miner and mine inspector, summed up the need for a face-to-face meeting with Rogers in an op-ed that was published Monday in The Hill.

There is an intermittent livestream from Rogers' office that you can view here: www.ustream.tv/channel/kepentz

Support the DC Action

Call Rep. Hal Rogers office to support those in his office demanding an end to mountaintop removal, support for new energy policies and training for transitioning workers.

(202) 225-4601

Or use his online comment form: https://halrogersforms.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm

You can follow tweets about today's actions at #AppRising, or a livestream at: http://appalachiarising.org/