In the Mountain State, the once-thriving coal industry says it feels betrayed, displaced coal workers are celebrating the black lung benefits of the bill and Republicans seeking Manchin’s seat in 2024 are licking their chops.
The cut-inflation law includes several measures focused on Appalachia, including subsidies to build renewable energy projects in former coal fields and the permanent extension of a tax on coal companies that funds benefits for miners suffering from black lung disease.
Advocates who fought hard to expand the black lung fund — they warned Manchin that the benefits were in jeopardy when the excise tax expired last year — hailed its inclusion as a major victory for workers who typically lack influence in Washington.
“We were surprised. We thought it would be four years or 10 years [extension]said Gary Hairston, a former West Virginia miner of 27 years who now heads the National Black Lung Association. “So when we got it permanently, we might not have to worry about it anymore.” The coal industry, on the other hand, attacked Manchin for making the tax permanent and pushing policies to subsidize alternative energy sources. Leaders of Appalachian coal groups, including the West Virginia Coal Association, wrote in a recent letter that the excise tax would cost them tens of millions of dollars and hurt their ability to compete and keep energy costs stable.
“This legislation is so outrageous, it leaves those of us who call Senator Manchin a friend, shocked and dismayed,” they wrote.
The backlash from the coal industry, conservative groups and GOP lawmakers opened an opportunity for political challengers ahead of Manchin’s upcoming re-election battle.
Rep. Alex Mooney (RW.Va.) is running TV ads accusing the Democratic senator of cutting through the state’s coal industry, a clear signal he plans to challenge him in 2024. “Alex Mooney will not let Joe Manchin and Joe Biden destroy the coal industry and destroy West Virginia,” the ad tells viewers. Cecil Roberts, a longtime Manchin ally who leads the United Mine Workers of America, the nation’s largest coal mining union, called those criticisms “absolute bull” in a recent statement.
He noted that the bill includes tax credits for sequestering coal that could extend the life of coal plants and authorizes $4 billion in tax credits exclusively for companies that create new clean energy jobs in coal communities. “I cannot understand how any politician who truly cares about the people of West Virginia and their quality of life can kill this bill,” Roberts said. “They should be thanking Senator Manchin, not attacking him.” In response to the West Virginia Coal Association, Manchin noted that the excise tax has been steadily expanding at the same rate for nearly four decades and said coal companies can take advantage of a $5 billion fund in the climate bill to boost their effectiveness.
“The big pushback I’m getting from coal operators right now is having to pay the black lung fund, and that’s a shame,” Manchin told reporters on a recent conference call. Manchin added that despite his best efforts to boost coal, his approval rating has declined under both Democratic and Republican presidents, indicating his state must take advantage of emerging energy technologies to keep up. Hundreds of coal-fired power plants have shut down in the past decade amid the emergence of cleaner, more efficient energy sources, causing pain for Appalachia’s coal mining companies.
At its peak, West Virginia’s coal industry employed more than 125,000 workers, a number that has fallen to less than 12,000 in addition to 36,000 independent contractors, according to estimates from the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Education. While slow to adopt clean energy policies, West Virginia lawmakers in recent years have passed bills to boost solar projects despite opposition from the coal industry. The Nature Conservancy and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce released a survey last year finding that most West Virginians believe the state should reduce its reliance on coal and shift to renewable energy, a significant shift in public opinion.
“This is a traditional energy state, but people in West Virginia are also interested in seeing what the new energy economy can bring to the state in terms of jobs, economic growth and economic diversification,” said Thomas Minney, director of the state of West Virginia. in Nature Protection.
As part of his climate deal, Manchin also secured an agreement from Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) that Democrats would pass legislation to fast-track approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which spans hundreds of miles in West Virginia and Virginia.
Lobby World Micron Announces $40 Billion Investment in US Chip Manufacturing Manchin says the natural gas pipeline, which has drawn opposition from local environmental and property rights advocates, will create 2,500 jobs in his home state and help offset the decline of coal. But it’s unclear whether deep-red West Virginia will embrace Manchin’s climate deal, given that his popularity soared around the time he told Democrats he couldn’t support the $2 trillion Build Back Back Better Act .
From the first quarter of 2021 to 2022, Manchin’s approval rating rose 17 points to 57 percent, the largest increase of any senator during that period, according to Morning Consult. Nearly 7 in 10 West Virginia Republicans expressed their support for the Democratic senator as he railed against his party’s spending package.