By Eric Cravey, Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — West Virginia’s senior U.S. Senator has drafted a bill that would create jobs in states that have a history of relying on fossil fuels, such as coal.
Now that he has taken the seat as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin has a bill called 48C Tax Credits, which would reinstate and expand tax credits for manufacturers. He is working with Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow to get traction for the bill. If approved, the bill could have a $4 billion impact on the U.S. economy.
“A 48C tax credit simply does this; $4 billion will be directed to the coal fields of America —most of them in West Virginia where the coal mines have been closed down — where coal fire planting has been shut down, where the economy has been destroyed, and you can trace those tax credits if you bring us manufacturing jobs, you bring us technology jobs, you bring us something.”
Manchin said if the Biden administration is going to be pulled into the direction of a ‘green energy’ policy, he wants to ensure those workers from the coal fields will have a seat at the table…
