The White House Wants to Hear What Transitioning Coal Communities Need
As the federal government makes big investments in Appalachia, they need to hear from us about how to best support communities that once depended on coal. Get involved at https://appvoices.org/coal-impacts/co...
Shortly after taking office in January, President Biden established the Interagency Working Group on Coal Communities, also known as the Coal Communities Working Group. This group of cabinet secretaries and other federal officials is charged with crafting policy and delivering resources to revitalize the economy in communities that have recently lost jobs as result of the country’s move away from coal and other fossil fuels.
In many Appalachian coal communities, capable people are out of work while more young people enter the workforce each year. And those communities also bear vast environmental degradation from unreclaimed coal mines, thousands of workers suffering from black lung and other occupational health conditions, and the same sorts of racism and violence that are common across the nation.
But the good news is that our communities already know what we need to address all of these problems, and the Coal Communities Working Group wants to hear from us.
The administration is already allocating hundreds of millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan funds to support economic revitalization in our communities. The Working Group will be holding a series of in-person and virtual town halls. We need to make sure they hear from us about how that money can be most useful.
Send a comment to the Working Group and sign up to receive updates on ways to get involved and be heard. Visit https://appvoices.org/coal-impacts/co...
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