REP. DAVID McKINLEY

WHEELING — U.S. Rep. David B. McKinley said there’s new leadership and a new way of doing things in Washington, and he’ll just have to learn to work with it.

McKinley, R-W.Va., returned home and made stops in Wheeling after votes and meetings in the House scheduled for Thursday and Friday unexpectedly were canceled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

“We’re adjusting in part to being in the minority,” he said of House Republicans. “It’s unpleasant, I’ll tell you that.”

The hot topic in Washington is money for border security, and whether a deal can be reached that would address the $5.7 billion requested by President Donald Trump to build physical barriers between America and Mexico.

McKinley isn’t part of the negotiations, but he is hopeful a compromise can be reached by a Feb. 13 deadline. This would avoid a repeat of a 35-day shut down government occurring last month.

If a deal isn’t achieved, Trump has the option of issuing an executive order declaring border security an emergency issue, and designating existing military funds be used for a border wall.

“I don’t want to be negative — I’d rather be positive,” McKinley said. “I hope he (Trump) doesn’t have to impose an emergency order. My concern is that sets a precedent.”

He suspects the deal achieved will involve the construction of physical barriers, “but not a 2,000-mile wall” across the border.

“I don’t know if it will be a concrete wall. It could be steel slats,” McKinley said. “I think we’re going to see more use of drones and fencing. That’s all fine.”

He said he has spoken with officials with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), who believe physical barriers are needed on border. Likewise, farmers in Texas have spoken up, saying the wall could keep them and their livestock away from rivers and a needed water supply.

McKinley, meanwhile, is thinking back 30 years to his days in the Republican minority in the West Virginia House of Delegates, and what he had to do to pass legislation.

He said he will spend the coming months seeking “to build coalitions” with colleagues across the aisle to pass his own legislation. He reports last year in a GOP-controlled House he was able to pass 10 bills into law.

McKinley said in 2019 he will focus on measures to shore up the future of the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan. One of his proposals would transfer to the fund money from the Abandoned Mine Lands Program, which isn’t needed by some states where deep mining isn’t prevalent.

He explained there are far fewer miners today paying into the pension fund, and the money available to pay out benefits to retirees is dwindling.

McKinley predicts if nothing is done to assure the longevity of the pension program, it will go bankrupt by 2022. If this happens, about 100,000 retired miners could lose their pensions, according to information provided by McKinley’s office.

“Murray (Energy) is the only one paying into it now,” McKinley said. “If anything happens to Murray before then, it will go bankrupt even quicker. This is going to affect the very people who didn’t cause the problem. They were paying into it.”