Congressman Mike Kelly made several key points about energy policy when he delivered the Republican Party’s weekly national address on the Saturday before Christmas.

But nothing spoke more clearly than the lump of Pennsylvania coal he held while speaking.

Kelly, a second-term Republican from Butler, began his three-minute, 22-second speech while holding up a large lump of coal — the traditional Christmas-morning reward for naughty children. Kelly said it was a gift for President Barack Obama.

“Not because he’s been bad this year,” Kelly said.

Our Third District congressman contends that coal is a legitimate, sincere gift — one that “holds the potential for a 21st-century economic revival,” he said. It’s the most abundant and valuable natural resource to bless the American continent.

“It lights our homes, keeps our electric bills low, and puts food on the table for countless families,” he said. It supports more than 40,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone — and it’s just one of countless abundant resources to be found in America.

With all its God-given resources, the United States should be leading the world in energy production. But it isn’t, and Kelly blames Obama’s intentionally restrictive energy policies.

“The president said he would bankrupt the coal industry and he’s spent his presidency trying to do just that,” Kelly said. “Now even when the president’s own party stopped him from imposing his cap-and-trade tax, ... he directed the EPA to do his bidding for him.”

Instead of forcing our workers to live with less, the president should let us use our God-given resources and talents to help Americans get back to work and make our nation the energy superpower it can be — and quite frankly, that it needs to be.

An energy-dependent world needs clear-thinking leadership — an understanding that energy markets — coal, gas, oil, wind, solar, hydro — are inextricably connected. While the ongoing Marcellus Shale gas boom has made coal seem obsolete, OPEC’s recent price maneuvering, designed to cut Marcellus profitability, might revive demand for coal.

Kelly did not call for an easing of necessary regulation; rather, he urged an end of unnecessarily restrictive regulations. He said a reversal of Obama’s ban on the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a good start.

“Whether it’s stopping these regulations, expediting infrastructure, or expanding production, there’s so much we can do to encourage the development of all forms of American energy,” he said. “These aren’t just Republican solutions. These are common-sense American ideas that have support in both parties.”

Take note that it was Kelly speaking. When the 114th Congress convenes in January, expect the Third Congressional District’s representative to take a more prominent leadership role, particularly regarding issues related to energy development.

And Kelly can be expected to keep that lump of coal nearby as a reminder of where he’s from.