Emory “Curly” Carter sometimes feels like he can’t breathe. Household chores, such as cleaning and gardening, leave him gasping for air, making him feel like he has a “real bad” case of pneumonia.

After nearly four decades working in underground coal mines, Carter was diagnosed with black lung, a deadly and incurable disease caused by inhaling coal dust over a long period. Now, the 70 year-old worries that the Trump administration’s steep cuts to health and safety programs will endanger the next generation of miners across the coalfields of West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a final rule repealing a requirement that state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) establish declining carbon dioxide (CO2) targets for greenhouse gas measurements.

The final rule, which is effective May 19, also repeals a component requiring DOTs and MPOs to report on progress toward the achievement of their carbon dioxide target.

JACK KOPANSKI (PIT & QUARRY): For everyone: How might tariffs impact the aggregate industry?

For those here who are National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) members, how would you characterize the value the association provided during former president and CEO Michael Johnson’s 11 years at the helm? How would you describe the association’s standing in Washington today and the influence it has in the nation’s capital? What direction would you like to see NSSGA take under its next chief executive?