. >> sreenivasan: in the heart of appalachia, generations of coal miners have lived through good times we'll have some early tomatoes, middle tomatoes, late tomatoes... >> sreenivasan: when coal miner chris farley was laid off two years ago, he began growing food on his grandmother's west virginia lot to feed his family. >> i'm a telling him, you've got to grow what you eat, you've got to survive, and in this area, most of all, you have to eat. >> i got laid off, and there was no jobs around here to be found. went from jobs everywhere to nothing. and i was actually at the point of going from door to door with my neighbors, seeing if they needed grass mowed, or weeds cut, or just any odd jobs to try to pay the power bills. just anything, whatever it took to provide for my family. >> sreenivasan: between 1980 and 2015, the number of coal jobs fell by 60%, due to automation and competition from natural gas. >> bees are workin' good granny >> sreenivasan: but even before the decline, bertha farley had lived through many coal industry downturns. >> my daddy got laid off and i had five broth

i understand the money would direct more funding to states in appalachia and appalachia is suffering, from raging environmental harm. unfortunately, i cannot support deeper cuts to the e.p.a. i oppose the amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. >> i yield to the chairman such time as he may coe de-sire to consume. the chair: the gentleman is ecognized. >> i understand the gentleman's goal. mr. calvert: we can accept this package of amendments at this time, work toward maintaining funding for six states in a final fiscal year 2018 enacted bill. if we're able to achieve that, i hope we can count on the gentleman's support to pass that package and the 2018 spending bill. i urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment and yield back. >> i reserve the remainder of my time. chip the gentlelady from minnesota is recognized. ms. mccollum: i appreciate the challenges that the gentleman suffering in his state and throughout appalachia. but i can just not support any more deeper cuts to the e.p.a. and so i must o

don't give me this there is no talent in this inner-city neighborhood for this devastated parts of appalachia so if we don't foster that and everybody then we are feeling -- feeling then to friends and family into the much more self-conscious to not let shame qiviut from telling people what is going on because michael's life was hindered by the degree of difficulty his family set for him and was full of injustices and his family that hid his schaede and did not talk or dive into the problems we were addressing. that is what we're all thinking about. >> the idea to understand the structural challenges to not be open and honest. >> yes. fake you for saying that. that is what i am trying to say so there was a talk at the beginning of the conversation i gave this as a set of lectures at harvard it was a weird experience for the audience i basically cried through the whole thing they were very generous. they don't come to an academic lecture so this incredible a group therapy but what was powerful is the number of people that i never told anybody have a family member in prison it was not a racial.

they came up with the concept of central appalachia we should not only allow it to be a restoration of the land but that that land could be used and looked as an economic purpose, a reuse that the community could use for community development or economic development and that was important. funding for these reclamation grants was first established in fiscal year 2016, but was originally provided only to the three appalachian states with the greatest amount of unfunded reclamation needs. unfortunately, that didn't of course reach all the states and so last year, an additional three states were added, those states being virginia, ohio, alabama, the original three being pennsylvania, west virginia and kentucky. so this year things were working through. virginia, ohio and alabama are not currently included. my amendment basically makes sure they're included. we've worked with the team on appropriations to word it correctly. we think we got it worded correctly so we now have the ability to add in all three states. i think this is important. folks often say to us, you know, those of you in c

one of the things about the pushed coalt is it production to some extent from appalachia to the west.e eastern coal is high in sulfur. coal that is found in the western united states is low sulfur, and the clean air act basically held coal-fired power plants or industries that use coal, either you had to use low sulfur coal or install in's -- install expensive scrubbers. there was a real shift to low sulfur coal coming out of the american west. 90% of coal that is coming out of the american west, federally owned land in the american west, comes from the powder river basin on the wyoming-my time -- wyoming-montana border. there is a huge amount of coal is produced there. if you added up the coal in the powder river basin produces, if it were its own country and you added up all that coal and is being burned around 200 electricity plants around the united states, and you made the powder river and -- river its own country it would be the sixth largest contributor to global warming in the world. so one of the side effects of the clean air act -- it is unbalanced, but there are unintended

there is no talent in this devastated part of appalachia. talent is everywhere and if we do not foster it and foster everybody's potential, whatever it may be in the society, we are failing. it's th that need to be much moe subconscious without talking to each other, not letting shane p. q. from what's going on because again, michael's life was hindered by the degree of difficulty or society. for him it was hindered by the criminal justice is done, but it was also hindered by the family that hated its it's a shame and didn't talk and couldn't honestly dive into the problems that we are addressing. as a family, i think that is what we are all now thinking about. >> host: the idea that we understand the structural challenges that exist but by not being open and honest we are still being complicit. >> guest: yes, thank you for saying it. i couldn't get to that formulation. that is what i am trying to say. you asked about the process at the beginning of the conversation. i gave a lecture, which is a strange idea, at harvard and it was a new expe

the president did extraordinarily well in parts of my state and a part of appalachia. he promised a renewal to folks who used to work in the coal mines. well, his first budget instead of offering renewal and hope slashed one of the most successful long-term bipartisan supported programs, the appalachian regional commission that has invested in millions of community throughout appalachia over the years. as well, the president's fiscal 2018 budget completely eliminated a program that helps struggling families heat their homes during the coldest months of winter. again, all those cuts come out of the nondefense discretionary spending which in english really means education, support programs, roads, r&d, all those programs will be subject to cut within the current budget fiscal outline. here are some additional facts. our national debt is approaching $20 trillion. and debt held by the public as a percentage of the g.d.p. is the highest it's been since we emerged from world war ii. the federal government spends more money than it collects in revenue. we work in the only pla

he said appalachia loves it. [ applause ] so the most important thing is to know that some times it is not -- nobody is going to thank you for being a leader but we are all here to thank you. it is difficult and you know that as a business owner to be out there and invest in people and have the faith of your dreams and to set something up, but it does make a difference. thank you for that question. thank you. [ applause ] >> my name is curtis. i'm with indivisible san francisco. that they were not protected by existing civil rights law. the trump administration is determined to roll back gains. what will you do to push forward debate and passage bill of the equality bill act of 2017 which would provide with protection under federal law? >> well, first of all, i support that. it's everything we have been doing. it it's about fighting for the change in federal law to make sure that this is a protect ifr class because you're absolutely right. this gets back to certain truths that we must speak. racism is real in this country. sexism is real in this country. we must speak that truth and do

.: i think it is specifically white working-class americans in -- with connections to appalachia andhe rust belt. what i saw and started to research and realize is that a lot of problems that existed in my family existed in the broader community at large in a disproportionate way. charlie: what problems? j.d.: increasing rates of family breakdown and divorce, opioid addiction come up and a schism, cynicism of the future that is real. what i would call a learned helplessness. charlie: is it a feeling of being a victim? j.d.: it is partially a failure of being a victim, but not an individual failing. i think it comes down to the communities and neighborhoods we are raised in and the attitudes we acquire. charlie: what do you acquire from the neighborhoods? j.d.: one thing is a sense your choices don't matter. what has happened is that the industrial economy has been tough on these areas and i don't think we should allay that. in combination with that tough economic circumstance, people start to give up and think, no matter what they do, they cannot get ahead. and i think that is a self

. >> another good example, suppose i live in rural appalachia. i don't know there is a new health care bill. suppose i have access and tools and i can read about it and i understand there is an opportunity to have a debate. i will be much more informed and have a better decision-making process when it comes time to vote. that is how technology and education is going to play a role in helping us change. it truly has to start there. >> that is an ideal world, though. just because people have access to information, it doesn't mean they have access to the right information. >> but at least they have something. --but they might be getting there is fake news out there. there is this information out there, as well. >> for one, there has always been fake news. two it's worse because, you can spread fake news a lot easier to people and it is harder to stop because he couldn't stop it. this option is that we need to kids how to use these things. 80% of elementary schools cannot tell you the difference between a sponsored site and a real news site. we do ne

. >> another good example of that, suppose i live in rural appalachia, and i don't know that this new health care bill is going to be detrimental to me, but suppose i have access and i can read about it, and i understand there's an opportunity to have a debate about it. i'm going to be much more informs and have a better decision making process when it comes time to go to the ballot box. that's how technology and education is going to play a role in helping us change things. it truly has to start there. >> that's kind of an ideal world, because i think right now we're also in this environment where just because people have access to information it doesn't mean they're getting access to the right information. >> sure. >> at least they have the information. they have something. >> a lot of times, they might be getting, you know, fake -- to -- there is fake news out there. there is disinformation out there as well. it could re-enforce a lot of the really wrong information. >> one, there's always been fake news. two, actually, it was worse because you could spread fake news easier through

not every place, not on all issues, opioids are a disaster, appalachia has unique problems, but generally our experience is that people feel that at the local and regional level, they are getting traction, better off than they were a couple of years ago. one more thing, to set us up, i was at the republican convention last year and there was a story at the and of the convention and the headline was "gop delegates believe the economy is terrible except where they are from." the sense that it must be terrible every place. you were saying that you thought you had a sort of pessimistic side to that divide, tell me how you think media are affecting the view, positive or negative, the difficult challenge of being aware of where there are problems, without being excessively pessimistic. how do you think about this resumes them-optimism balance? as you heard david and as you hear me, and as you hear your students? dr. winston: well, what i really dislike about most media, is its focus on the negative, and the fact that, if it bleeds, it leads. if it is bad news is the headline. there is that expe

the zip code you come from, whether it's appalachia, ohio, or inner city dayton, relies a whole lot. good nutrition leads to patients who can recover more quickly, patients that have access to food and better nutrition to avoid chronic health issues. as one executive said we can pay now or pay later. your research shows improvements in snap and improvements in health and education outcomes. are there improvement that we make specifically to snap that would accelerate these gains? >> in my opinion, the best improvements we make are two fold. one, i think the benefits right now are very meager. i think about $4.50 per person per day. i think the evidence suggests a slightly larger benefit would just improve the effectiveness of the program all the more, allow people to escape food insecurity, buy healthier foods and so on. the second would be really expanding those market based incentives to buy hlgtier foods. whether that's a double up food program or other programs like that. >> talk in more detail if the -- first of all, i think americans don't really know -- you know, we use the te

the zip code you come from, whether it's appalachia, ohio, or inner city dayton, relies a whole lot. good nutrition leads to patients who can recover more quickly, patients that have access to food and better nutrition to avoid chronic health issues. as one executive said we can pay now or pay later. your research shows improvements in snap and improvements in health and education outcomes. are there improvement that we make specifically to snap that would accelerate these gains? >> in my opinion, the best improvements we make are two fold. one, i think the benefits right now are very meager. i think about $4.50 per person per day. i think the evidence suggests a slightly larger benefit would just improve the effectiveness of the program all the more, allow people to escape food insecurity, buy healthier foods and so on. the second would be really expanding those market based incentives to buy hlgtier foods. whether that's a double up food program or other programs like that. >> talk in more detail if the -- first of all, i think americans don't really know -- you know, we use the te

they quickly set it aside to push an agenda that does not serve working families in appalachia, ohio, in inner city ohio, in affluent and poor suburbs. we have two crisis -- one on the gulf coast, one stretching from florida to the virgin islands that we must tackle. we have a less visible crisis as well, not because of flooding or hurricanes, but because decent, affordable house something beyond the reach of more and more americans. ms. patenaude is intelligent, she's got good insight. she knows had her heart what this budget would mean to a whole lot of americans who work full-time, who have generally low incomes, $8, $10, $12 an hour and simply can't find affordable, clean, decent housing. her support nor that budget -- for that bucket, it will make the -- her support for that budget, it will make the problem worse. that's why i vote no and ask my colleagues to vote no on the nomination. i ask unanimous consent to place the remainder my comments in a different part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. last week 143 million am

so there's real opportunities for us in central appalachia. funding for the grants was first established in 2016 but provided exclusively to three app latchian states with the greatest amount of unfunded reclamation needs. unfortunately this didn't include coal communities that were economic devastated, as you know, mr. chairman. so many communities in my district are trying to deal with things. there's a little uptick in coal production but there is like a depression. including the top six states, pennsylvania, west virginia and kentucky, states of virginia, alabama and ohio, and so we would hope that we could add back in the second tier of states to that. now, i brought along a map because sometimes a map can do a better job explaining things. this orangey area, i guess i should hold it up with two hands. that is my congressional district and coal fields of southwest virginia. i got to use my hands. there are mines along the kentucky border which are current mines. historic has been the case befowhere the mine is right on the border. there w

from rural appalachia to memphis, we seem patients who cannot afford the rising premiums of the market. many who lost coverage when an insurer pulled out. my dad used to tell me, people don't care what you know until they know that you care. at our event we start with a lot of listening. we spend months meeting community leaders in each area to determine the best path forward. i will never forget a trucker and met in hawkins county. his blood pressure was 200 over hundred which is out of control. his bmi was 50 indicating severe obesity. as i spoke with him i heard the story of a proud and hard-working man who wanted to make ends meet. he did not want to hand out. here's the problem, his income was too high for a subsidy on the market and he cannot afford the insurance or of basic blood pressure pill. with premiums rising over 139% three years like so many tennesseans he was priced out of coverage. we talked about diet, weight loss, physical activity modification and conservative measures that could help him. as our conversation progressed i could see the light bulb turn on. he underst

we know the zip code you come from whether it's appalachia, ohio, dayton, it matters to your health and so on. and they told the safety net programs like snap, good nutrition lead to patients who can recover better and to avoid chronic health issues. as one executive said, we can pay now or pay later. two questions, your research shows links between snap and our broader work to address poverty in this country, including improvements in health care and educational outcomes. are there improvements we make specifically to snap that would accelerate these gains? >> you know, in my opinion, the premise we could make are two fold. one, the benefits right now are meager, $4.50 per person per day and as the evidence suggests, slightly larger benefit would just improve the effectiveness of the program all the more, allow people to escape food insecurity by healthier foods and so on. the second would be expanding those market-based incentives to buy healthier food whether it's a food double up program or other programs like that. >> talk in more detail about if the-- first of all, i think that am

all of appalachia to further demand for craft laborer.o comment. if you need skilled workers commute trains on yourself, but you still don't have enough. the obvious question, why did you bring them in from overseas? >> the real issue is we need to reach high school students in the united states. >> i'm asking the question one that you raise the issue of bringing them in overseas if you need them? >> i think we need to educate community at-large. it will take time, but that's okay. we been added between micro with skills u.s.a. and the a's mentorship program which is a huge program supported by all major companies. we are drying in students out of our program actually 68% minorities. during the industry which is a big shift because of the male dominated industry but we are going to see that ship. we need to wake people up in high schools about what a great industry this is and we are making progress. stuart: i've got the same question although we are all trying to recover from the devastating hurricanes. there's a great need for skilled w

from rural appalachia to memphis we have seen patients who can no longer afford the rising premiums of the individual market. many who lost coverage when an insurer pulled out. my dad used to always tell me, people don't care what you know until they know that you care. so at our events, we always start with a lot of listening. we spend months meeting local community leaders in each area we visit to determine the best path forward. i will never forget this trucker i met in hawkins county. his blood pressure was 200 over 100 which is out of control. his body mass index was 50. indicating severe obesity. as i spoke with this gentleman, i heard the story of a very proud and hard-working man who just wanted to make ends meet. he didn't want a handout. but here is the problem. his income was too high for a subsidy on the individual market, and he just simply could not afford the insurance. or a basic blood pressure pill. with premiums rising over 139% in three years, like so many tennesseans, he was priced out of coverage. we started to talk about diet. about weight loss. physical activity