Since West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) announced Sunday that he would not support the Build Back Better legislation, coal miners are pleading with him to reconsider.
“We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working, and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families, and their communities,” said a Monday press release from the United Mine Workers of America International union.
Build Back Better is a Democrat-led, approximately $2 trillion spending bill that aims to address issues such as child care, environmental protection, healthcare and more. No one making under $400,000 will pay more in taxes to fund the bill.
However, Manchin’s stance dooms its chances of passing in the Senate, where Republicans are not expected to support the legislation, according to The Hill.
Manchin thinks lawmakers should instead address inflation, the national debt and rising COVID-19 cases, said the outlet.
Manchin said on Fox News Sunday that he would not support the bill.
According to The Guardian, Manchin “makes roughly half a million dollars a year in dividends from millions of dollars of coal company stock he owns,” and in West Virginia an estimated 13,000 people are employed in the coal mining industry.
“The United Mine Workers and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have a long and friendly relationship. We remain grateful for his hard work to preserve the pensions and health care of our retirees across the nation, including thousands in West Virginia,” said UMWA President Cecil E. Roberts.
However, Roberts said the union is “disappointed,” in Manchin’s stance on Build Back Better, since it includes programs that would directly benefit coal miners. These include: an extension to the current fee paid by coal companies to fund benefits received by victims of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or Black Lung, and tax incentives for manufacturers that build facilities and employ thousands of coal miners who have lost their jobs.
Apart from disappointing coal workers, Manchin’s opposition to the spending bill is expected to cost the country around about $60 billion in gross domestic product, per Business Insider calculations.
In a statement issued Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Manchin’s comments on Fox were inconsistent with discussions he had last week with President Joe Biden.
According to CNN, Biden still has hope that Manchin will change his position on the legislation.
“Some people think maybe I'm not Irish because I don't hold a grudge. But I want to get things done,” said the president Tuesday, according to the outlet. “I still think there's a possibility of getting Build Back Better done.”
The Senate is expected to vote on the Build Back Better Bill next month.
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