Fellow GOP Gov Slams Gov. Justice’s $4.5B Coal Scheme

Wyoming Gov.: Justice’s Plan ‘Would Put Western Coal at a Disadvantage’

 

 
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s $4.5 billion coal bailout scheme just took another hit today – even a fellow GOP governor says it’s would be a disaster.
Justice – one the largest coal owners in Appalachia – proposed a plan that would create a $15-per-ton subsidy for Appalachian coal sent to power plants. Justice said President Trump is “really interested” in his plan, which would leave out Western or Illinois Basin coal.
This morning, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, along with other elected officials from the state, unanimously panned Justice’s coal subsidy scheme with the Trump administration. From the Wyoming Tribune Eagle report:
Wyoming leaders are expressing their disapproval of a plan that would provide federal funding to prop up coalfields in the eastern United States.
Gov. Matt Mead said he also empathizes with West Virginia’s plight. But he said he disagreed with the proposal to subsidize the region’s coal industry.
“Such a subsidy would not, in the long run, accomplish its goal – to stabilize West Virginia’s economy,” Mead said. “It would put western coal at a disadvantage and make the coal industry an even bigger target of those who want to see this important segment of our energy security shut down. We, as a nation, need to work to establish coal’s future using research, technology and common sense.”
Justice’s companies owe millions in unpaid taxes.
“Even fellow Republican governors think Jim Justice’s taxpayer bailout scheme is a sham,”  said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Just like everything he does, the biggest beneficiary of Jim Justice’s plan is Jim Justice. He already deceived the voters of West Virginia once this year when he switched parties. They shouldn’t trust him on this deal either.”
 

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