Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona) serves as chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. Photo courtesy House Committee on Natural Resources Democrats
March 20, 2020
Chair Grijalva, Rep. Cartwright Urge Congressional Leaders Not to Bail Out Coal Industry as Part of Coronavirus Response
Washington, D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) today wrote to Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate urging them to reject the National Mining Association’s (NMA) campaign for a taxpayer-funded bailout of the coal industry. In a recent letter to President Trump and congressional leaders, the NMA pressed for the suspension or reduction in coal royalties to the public, a reduction in the Abandoned Mine Land fee on coal production on federal lands – a fee used to cover cleanup costs and prevent taxpayer burden – and a cut to the Black Lung Excise Tax, which funds medical services for approximately 25,000 sick miners nationwide.
The full Grijalva-Cartwright letter is available at https://bit.ly/2UhzaFC.
“The coal industry is taking advantage of the country’s current circumstances to advocate for policies that are completely unrelated to the current crisis,” the lawmakers write. “It is disappointing that the coal industry is advocating for policies that would not help the tens of thousands of sick, retired, and out-of-work miners that need immediate help and the communities that are still recovering from the legacy of environmental damage caused by the coal industry.”
Grijalva and Cartwright urge Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to “reject the NMA wish-list and focus federal resources on the workers, families, and communities that are being hardest hit by this crisis.”
The letter comes as the Trump administration floats the possibility of taxpayer bailouts for fossil fuel industries. Grijalvasigned a letter earlier this week led by Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) rejecting calls for any taxpayer bailout of oil and gas corporations.
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