Perhaps Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV 2nd) just didn't know about her home state legislature's mandate. Or is it possible that coal baron Don Blankencheck isn't really spending all that advertising cash "for the sake of the kids" as he'd have Capito's constituents believe?
Perhaps Ms. Capito really "didn't know" that her constituents wanted her to protect coal miners' pensions from transnational corporate pirates.
She may have miraculously somehow have been left "out of the loop" when both houses of her home state legislature passed a resolution specifically directing her to investigate the loss of pensions due to the buyout of the Cannelton mines. Perhaps her hometown newspaper was routed to the wrong address only on those particular days it carried articles about hard-earned pensions lost by her constituents due to a joint venture between transnational corporate profiteer Wilbur Ross of International Coal Group (ICG) and Massey Energy (formerly known as AT Massey).
She somehow may have never known of West Virginia's Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 58. Or else she apparently chose to ignore the fact that BOTH houses of her legislature urged her to persuade her friends in the GOP-run Congress to enact pension protections against a clever bankruptcy scheme established by corporate pirates to skate around the spirit and intent of the Coal Act legislated in 1992.
If someone were to ask her, she'd probably say she just didn't know as she was left out of the "loop".
Ms. Capito would insinuate that her constituents were probably mistaken in the assumption that their legislature had sent a clear message for her to use her influential position to leverage a bill fashioned to prevent a reoccurrance of what was legally shoved onto the coal mining families at Cannelton Hollow, WV a couple of years ago. Because had she only known, she might well have advanced legislation preventing big businesses from screwing working families out of their pensions anywhere in America.
But apparently she somehow was left out.
Because it is entirely reasonable for West Virginians to expect their own House of Congress Representative to respect their righteous will to make it impossible to repeat what Don "for the sake of the kids" Blankenship
http://www.wvoter-owned.org/...
and his partner Wilbur "transnational vulture" Ross
http://www.villagevoice.com/...
did to those miners who faithfully had put in so many tough and dangerous years at what has arguably been the one of the most productive coal mines in the United States.
Yet somehow the rest of WV's congressional delegation got wind of S.C.R 58, because they actively tried advancing its tenets in Congress. But they were Democrats working in the GOP-held stronghold.
Yet Ms. Capito apparently still remained mysteriously "out of the loop". Because it never made it past her committee and onto the House agenda. During a recent debate, she boasted that as a member of the Rules Committee, she had the ability to affect every piece of legislation that came into the House. And it is true that her GOP-run House Rules Committee is literally in direct charge of setting the agenda regarding what legislation gets considered as well as what doesn't on the floor of the House.
But did Ms. Capito misuse her vaunted position to essentially nullify the clear intent duly promulgated by her home state? Or did someone simply forget to fill her in?
It is possible that she somehow just wasn't aware of her state legislature's concurrent petition dated March 21, 2005. It could be sort of like when she was "unaware" that former House Whip Tom Delay's ARMPAC cash was tainted by his Abramoff connections as it came pouring in. Even while she and her fellow Republicans were hacking away at the House Ethics Committee in their attempt to let Mr. Delay stay on as Majority Whip despite his 3 indictments, she never noticed the stench coming from the large sum of ill-gotten money she'd received from him.
Or it could be like the time fellow House GOP member Bob Ney was spreading around yet more Abramoff-connected influence peddling cash. When she accepted it she apparently was again unaware of any problems connected with the cash, but later donated it to charities after realizing that it might eventually give the wrong impression. One Oct. 13, Mr. Ney entered a guilty plea and began serving a 27 month sentence.
Or could this possibly be reminiscent to the time when Ms. Capito remained totally oblivious to the fact that fellow GOP congresscritter Randall "Duke" Cunningham was being investigated, indicted, convicted and sentenced amazingly without ever being asked to appear before her House Ethics committee. So it is entirely understandable when "her office" accepted his generous war profiteering contributions. How could she have known when even the House Ethics committee didn't have a clue?
http://www.examiner.com/...
So by this time it's completely believable when she once again admits to have been left totally "out of the loop" while fellow GOP House Member Tom Foley was caught "Hasterbating" her very own House Pages over the Internet.
http://www.suntimes.com/...
Given her record for being "out of the loop" time and again, how could anyone reasonably expect Ms. Capito to have known that West Virginians wished to protect coal miners and their families (or any other families in America for that matter), against corporate profiteers hell-bent on plundering their peons out of their pensions?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wv Senate Concurrent Resolution
S. C. R. 58 - "Petitioning the
United States Congress
investigate the loss of insurance
coverage and pensions for active
and retired coal miners due to the
bankruptcy of Horizon Natural
Resources and the closing of
Cannelton Mine in Kanawha
County."
Whereas, On August 31, 2004,
Federal Bankruptcy Court for the
Eastern District of Kentucky
issued a decision that allowed for
the sale of Horizon Natural
Resources' assets, which include
Cannelton Mine located in
eastern Kanawha County; and
Whereas, As a part of the
settlement, the Court allowed
Horizon Natural Resources to
void its contract with workers,
thereby eliminating its contractual
obligation to provide medical
insurance coverage to the active
and retired membership; and
Whereas, The Court also
permitted the company's assets to
be sold "free and clear", leading
to the termination of health
benefits for retirees covered by
the Coal Act, a federal statute
enacted by Congress in 1992 to
prevent coal companies from
abandoning retirees; and
Whereas, As a result of the
decision in Federal Bankruptcy
Court, on September 27, 2004,
the Cannelton Mine was idled
and 250 coal miners lost their
jobs and health benefits;
approximately 100 active miners
were laid off before they could
accrue full pension benefits;
approximately 1,000 retirees and
their spouses in Kanawha and
Fayette counties lost their health
benefits; and local and coal
mine-related businesses in this
state lost thousands of dollars
owed to them; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of
West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby
petitions the United States
Congress investigate the loss of
insurance coverage and pensions
for active and retired coal miners
due to the bankruptcy of Horizon
Natural Resources and the closing
of Cannelton Mine in Kanawha
County; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the
Legislature hereby requests
Congress determine whether the
bankruptcy laws should be
amended to ensure that workers'
health and pension benefits are
protected; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the
Legislature hereby requests the
Governor review and develop
policies and programs to protect
the economic welfare of coal
miners and communities
negatively affected by mine
closures as a result of
bankruptcies of coal mining
companies and convene a
meeting of federal, state and local
elected and appointed officials
associated with coal mining and
coal miners' health and safety to
review and evaluate the 1992
Coal Act and other federal and
state laws in light of the Horizon
Natural Resources' bankruptcy to
determine the need for
amendment of these laws; and, be
it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk
of the Senate is hereby directed
to forward a copy of this
resolution to West Virginia's
congressional delegation and the
Governor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
see
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/...
also
http://www.plp.org/...
and try
http://www.google.com/...
not to mention
http://reformbankruptcylaws.blogspot.com/