By Steven Allen Adams, The Intelligencer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin fought to include provisions in the latest renamed version of Build Back Better to help West Virginia’s oil and natural gas industries, but opponents and supporters differ on whether the bill will benefit the state’s coal industry.
Manchin, D-W.Va., announced last week he had come to an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the latest incarnation of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better social and environmental spending package. The bill, as presented, would effectively double the tax burden on the domestic coal industry — a move that state coal associations across the country say will impact the nation’s ability to produce the resource.
The Inflation Reduction Act has a total cost of $733 billion, including $433 billion for clean energy projects and $300 billion for reducing the nation’s deficit. The bill is nearly paid for with $739 billion in new revenue, including $288 billion in prescription drug pricing reform, $124 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, and $14 billion to close the carried interest loophole…
