Posts Tagged ‘Congress’
Congressional Hearing Addresses Abandoned Mine Cleanup
Regional leaders testified in front of a U.S. House subcommittee about strategies to restore abandoned mines and witnesses expressed support for the RECLAIM Act.
Read MoreCuts to funding for black lung benefits
Despite significant grassroots pressure, an excise tax that pays into a healthcare and disability fund for miners with black lung was slashed in half. The lack of action by Congress amounts to a tax break for coal companies while putting benefits for former miners and their families at risk.
Read MoreBattling for Black Lung Benefits
The deadly disease is on the rise, but funding for healthcare will be halved unless Congress acts this year.
Read MoreReauthorization of Mine Lands Program Advances
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would renew funding for restoring abandoned coal mine sites — but it would also limit a wide swath of environmental protections.
Read MoreEnvironmental Votetracker — Aug/Sept 2018 issue
Chart showing how Appalachian legislators voted on recent environmental legislation.
Read MoreEndangered Species Act Threatened
New guidelines from the Trump Administration alongside a congressional package of nine bills would bring massive changes to the Endangered Species Act.
Read MoreFederal spending bill: Some good, and bad news for Appalachia
Congress included funding for several programs important for Appalachian communities, but failed to include the critical RECLAIM Act.
Read MoreDecades in the Making: A Mine Reclamation Backlog
Several charts and maps show the enormity of the abandoned mine problems that still need to be cleaned up — and the inadequacy of the current cleanup fund.
Read MoreWhite House halts review of mountaintop removal health impacts
The U.S. Department of the Interior ordered the National Academy of Sciences to halt its review of the links between mountaintop removal coal mining and human health impacts.
Read MoreHouse Committee approves the RECLAIM Act with bipartisan support
On Tuesday morning, the House Natural Resources Committee passed the RECLAIM Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at revitalizing coal mining communities. The legislation would direct $1 billion over five years to restoring abandoned mine lands. Committee members also approved an amendment put forward by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) to require projects that receive funding under…
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