Democrats were united in their internecine criticism of Joe Manchin after the West Virginia Senator indicated that we would not support the $2 trillion Build Back Better spending package at the heart of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. But condemnation is also coming from a surprising quarter: West Virginia’s coal miners.
The United Mine Workers of America released a statement earlier this week reading: “We are disappointed that the bill will not pass. 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.”
The 131-year-old UMWA is the largest coal mining union in the country. It highlighted several provisions in the Build Back Better plan that would benefit its members.
“The bill includes language that would extend the current fee paid by coal companies to fund benefits received by victims of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or Black Lung,” the organization said. “But now that fee will be cut in half, further shifting the burden of paying these benefits away from the coal companies and on to taxpayers.”
The UMWA statement continued, “The bill includes language that will provide tax incentives to encourage manufacturers to build facilities in the coalfields that would employ thousands of coal miners who have lost their jobs. We support that and are ready to help supply those plants with a trained, professional workforce. But now the potential for those jobs is significantly threatened.”
Manchin has extensive ties to the UNWA. He was named a honorary member in 2020. Earlier this year, he forced a clean energy provision to be jettisoned from the Build Back Better bill, a move that earned him praise from the UNWA.
Business Insider provides key context:
“If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it,” Manchin said on Fox on Sunday, torpedoing a large part of the Biden administration’s agenda by coming out against BBB. “I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there. This is a no.”
However, there is a chance that Manchin might agree to vote on a scaled-down, $1.8 trillion counter-offer to Biden’s plan, which includes provisions for universal pre-K and measures to combat the climate emergency. Politico also reported that Manchin and Biden had a phone conversation on Sunday night, which indicates there might be hope yet for Build Back Better.
