TAZEWELL, Va. — U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., is defending his record on coal.

Boucher, who voted in support of a controversial cap and trade measure in the House, said he did so at the urging of the coal industry.

“I am the person on the Democratic side of the aisle that the coal industry comes to when they have a problem,” Boucher told members of the Daily Telegraph’s editorial board last week. “I’m the person the electric utility comes to when they have a problem. In that role, I have fought for the coal industry every step of the way, and will continue to do that as long as I have that opportunity in Congress.”

Boucher said he doesn’t regret his vote in support of the cap and trade bill.

“Absolutely not,” Boucher said. “The coal industry came to me and said we want you to engage. We want you to negotiate for us and get the best deal you can.”

If Congress does not act and draft a balanced regulatory measure that protects the coal industry, the Environmental Protection Agency will. And that would be the worse possible outcome for the region’s coal industry, Boucher said.

“My preference in all of this is we wouldn’t do this at all,” Boucher said. “But the EPA is now mandated by the Supreme Court to regulate green house gases. The debate is over as to whether we are going to have regulations. I chaired the subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality for two years from 2007 to the end of 2008. That was during the period  that the Supreme Court decision came down. At that point I started having hearings because I could see where this was heading.”

While some will argue that Congress should pass new laws to regulate the EPA’s authority, Boucher said such a move would be met with a veto from President Barack Obama.

“The votes are not there,” Boucher said. “The Senate tried that with the (Lisa) Murkowski resolution. If it had passed, the president said he would have vetoed it. The president will veto it. And you are not going to get a two-thirds vote in either house to overcome it. The only realistic course we can take is to pass balanced legislation that is supported by the coal industry and the electric utility. And we are going to be working in the next Congress on a way to do this.”

Boucher said he does not agree with the direction the Obama administration is taking on coal, as well as efforts to declare fly ash as a hazardous substance.

“Another example is with regards to surface mining,” Boucher said. “Surface mining is a key part of the economy of Southwest Virginia, and it must be maintained. I have sent a series of letters to the administration, and have had personal discussions with ranking officials who are on policy levels with the administration to express my strong (opposition).”

Boucher said the administration’s environmental policies could provide “deep injuries” to coal.

While critics argue the federal cap and trade, or climate change, legislation will cause electric bills to rise, Boucher said the measured introduced in the House would have simply equaled the price of a postage stamp, or 44 cents a day. For a typical American family, electricity rates would have increased by just $100 a year, according to Boucher.

Boucher admits he was surprised by the reaction of some following his work with the coal industry in support of a balanced cap and trade bill.

“Sometimes no good deed goes unpunished, and this election is a clear example of it,” Boucher said of the criticism he has taken for his vote in support of the cap and trade bill. “I’ve fought as hard as I could to defend coal. I suspect a lot of the people who are holding this against me are doing so for purely partisan reasons.”

Boucher said some small coal operators may not fully understand what the Supreme Court ruling means.

Boucher said he can’t explain why some responded to the cap and trade vote in an angry way.

“I can’t explain why,” Boucher said. “I do know a meeting was held shortly thereafter here in Bluefield of which I was not invited.”

Boucher said he would have liked to have had an opportunity to attend the meeting.

“So that meeting took place, it was covered by a lot of coal industry representatives, and it was a bashing session about me,” Boucher said. “The anger directed at me spread like cancer from that meeting, and is probably still spreading today.”

Boucher said small coal operators who may not understand the looming Supreme Court mandate need to have a voice in Washington.

“I’ve said for years that small coal operators need to have a voice,” Boucher said. “Maybe they could have a trade association. They never speak with one voice. It is always separate conversations with different people.”

Boucher is being challenged Nov. 2 by Republican Morgan Griffith, also the current House Majority Leader in the Virginia General Assembly, and by independent Jeremiah Heaton. Heaton, who was scheduled to meet with the editorial board, later canceled his interview.

Boucher has made Griffith’s residency — the 6th District — a campaign issue since the race is for Virginia’s 9th Congressional District.

“My opponent has never lived in this congressional district,”  Boucher said of Griffith. “It matters when you don’t live in a congressional district that is as large and diverse as this one. You can’t really understand the needs. In his case, a reflection of his lack of knowledge about this area is when he voted against the most meaningful electric rate reform in the state legislature.”

Boucher said he has traveled throughout the 9th Congressional District over the years, and has never seen Griffith once.

“The reality is he has never lived in this area,” Boucher said of Griffith. “He’s never given a whole lot of thought to this area.”

Boucher said the $787 billion federal stimulus bill was generally a success.

“I would say the first stimulus bill was,” he said. “Here’s why. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) estimates three million jobs were either saved or created by that legislation. Here in this particular area we saved a lot of jobs.”

Boucher said more than a thousand people could have lost their jobs in Southwest Virginia without the stimulus bill.

“I would hate to think what would have happened to our fragile economy, which in January of 2009 was on the brink of going into another Great Depression, I would hate to think what would have happened if we lost another 1,000 jobs.”

Boucher said the Great Recession may be over, but many across the nation are still hurting.

“When it is that deep (of a recession) it takes a long time to recover,” Boucher said. “We’ve had a series of problems that are overhanging this recovery. The housing market has been the primary one. There will be a record number of house foreclosures this year. That was this year, not last year. This was just a long and deep and very difficult recession, and it just takes time to recover.”

Boucher said he supports a continuation of the Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year.

“My position is these tax cuts should be continued in their entirety for everyone,” Boucher said. “I would prefer to continue them for two years until we’ve had an opportunity for this economy to be sufficiently recovered. In the middle of a struggling economy, when the priority is economic growth, the last thing you want to do is raise taxes on anyone. I’ll make a prediction. When we go back into session or the lame duck session that will be the result. We will probably extend them for one year. I would prefer two years. But probably in the way Congress acts it will be one year.”

Boucher said he voted against the controversial health care reform bill because of the deep cuts the legislation makes to Medicare.

“In this congressional district, we have 31 percent more Medicare beneficiaries than the national average,” Boucher said. “ The reason for that is our population is more elderly.”

Boucher said the new federal health care  law will cut $500 billion out of Medicare over a 10-year period.

“This level of cut will fundamentally damage Medicare,” Boucher said.

Boucher said creating jobs for the 9th District remains his highest priority. Through his “Showcasing Southwest Virginia” initiative, Boucher said he has attracted more than 5,000 jobs to Southwest Virginia, including just recently the addition of a DirecTV virtual customer support center.

Boucher said he also recently secured federal funding for the new Commerce Park in Bland County. Boucher said he also secured more than $178 million in federal funds to improve existing or construction of new water and wastewater systems for more than 96,000 homes and businesses throughout the 9th Congressional District during his time in office.

Boucher said he also has secured more than $90 million in federal funds to expand and improve the region’s broadband infrastructure, including more than 2,300 miles of new fiber-optic cable. He also has worked to develop new outpatient clinics for veterans in Bristol, Norton, Marion, Vansant and Jonesville.

Boucher said he also has secured more than $100 million over a ten-year period for the Grundy Flood Control and Redevelopment Project, and just recently secured $19.5 million for a flood protection project in neighboring Dickenson County.

Boucher said he has been working in recent years to assist with the revitalization of downtown Pocahontas. That involves working to secure federal funds to preserve the town’s historic structures and to enhance potential economic development. Boucher said he recently secured $68,000 in federal funds for roof replacement projects at the Old Opera House and the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com