How Congress Controls Regional Spending

The federal appropriations process determines how much funding is allocated to specific agencies, and could have big implications for efforts to protect Appalachian streams from mining and efforts to support a more diverse and sustainable regional economy.

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Considering Clean Power Compliance

From The Appalachian Voice:Almost everyone agrees that the Clean Power Plan is a game changer. Beyond that though, arguments about the climate regulations are often deeply colored by politics and disconnected from the plan’s intention or realistically expected outcomes. Here’s how Appalachian states are reacting to the final rule.

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Caught Between a Budget and a Hard Place

An Obama administration proposal would direct funds to workforce training and reemployment programs in the coal-bearing communities of Appalachia and increase the budgets of agencies focused on economic development, but regional politicians are slow to embrace the plan.

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State Legislative Updates

While lawmakers in Washington, D.C., might get most of the spotlight, the legislators in state capitols across the region are busy making — and blocking — laws that affect Appalachia’s land, air, water and people. Here’s the latest updates from state legislatures around the region

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