West Virginia Leaders Converged Near Capitol Hill to Urge Sen. Manchin and Congress to Fully Fund Biden’s “American Jobs Plan”

100% clean energy protest - West Virginia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2021
Contact:
Mike Tidwell, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-460-5838
Laura Cofsky, laura@chesapeakeclimate.org, 571-275-6696

Group also released a poll finding a historic 56% of West Virginians support 100% clean power, a key provision of the Biden Plan

WASHINGTON, DC Today, West Virginia leaders welcomed Senator Joe Manchin back from the Independence Day recess by calling on him to support all aspects of President Joe Biden’s historic American Jobs Plan. The group rallied on the Mall and released a new poll finding that a robust 56 percent of West Virginia voters support the Plan’s provision for a 100% clean electricity standard. 

Livestream available to watch here. High-resolution photos available upon request. 

During the rally, West Virginia leaders spoke about how the American Jobs Plan will extend the 48C Manufacturing Tax Credit which supports rural manufacturing and clean energy. This proven capital access program includes a special $4 billion carve-out for companies willing to set up operations in communities where coal mines or coal power plants have closed. In addition, the plan allocates $16 billion dollars to cap abandoned oil wells that continue to leak methane into the air and contaminate waterways.

“Senator Manchin has stated himself that we should be building the Green Economy in West Virginia, and his early support for extending the 48C Manufacturing Tax Credits shows his commitment to invest in our communities that are struggling,” said Working Families Party West Virginia State Director Ryan Frankenberry. “We need his leadership right now to get the American Jobs Plan passed to start rebuilding West Virginia for a future we all deserve.”

Speakers included Moms Clean Air Force West Virginia State Field Organizer Leah Barbor, Sierra Club’s Living Economy Program Director Ben Beachy, Former Director for Organizing with the AFL-CIO Stewart Acuff, Government Affairs Intern with Our Children’s Trust and singer/songwriter/climate activist Lucia Valentine, Senior Climate Analyst at Data for Progress Danielle Deiseroth, Regional Organizing Director of the WV Working Families Party Morgan Sell, and WV Organizer for SIEU Sherri McKinney.

“This event demonstrates that West Virginians are ready for a low carbon economy,” said CCAN Action Fund West Virginia Organizer Holly Bradley. “We are tired of being left behind and we’re willing to work together to build the foundation needed to begin to make clean energy a priority in our state for our future generations.”  

According to the poll that was just released by Data for Progress and CCAN Action Fund, West Virginia voters support implementing a 100% Clean Electricity Standard by surprisingly strong margins. Overall, 56% of all voters support the goal, outnumbering opponents by a wide 20-point margin. This includes 88% of Democrats, 55% of Independents (a 17-point margin), and more than one third of Republicans.

Additionally, 66% of voters in the survey support specific investments in communities, like those in West Virginia, that have lost jobs as the country transitions away from using fossil fuels. Another 54% of voters support investments to create new good-paying, union jobs to manufacture the technologies of the future, like wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles. And 55% of voters support funding to give consumers rebates and other incentives to purchase items such as electric vehicles, solar panels, and home appliances that are more efficient and create less pollution.

“West Virginia has been the backbone of America’s energy economy for decades,” said Senior Climate Analyst at Data for Progress Danielle Deiseroth.Now, as our nation moves away from fossil fuels, West Virginia voters strongly support federal investments to ensure the Mountain State benefits from a clean energy transition. Senator Manchin should feel confident supporting climate and clean energy provisions in the infrastructure bill, including a Clean Electricity Standard, knowing West Virginia voters support these ambitious investments.”

The event was part of the 100 Leaders for 100% Clean Energy” summer series of events, organized to demonstrate the broad-based support that exists across the country for the American Jobs Plan and its 100% clean power provision. The event was co-hosted by the West Virginia New Jobs Coalition, West Virginia Working Families Party, Hip Hop Caucus, Evergreen Action Fund, and CCAN Action Fund. With Congressional leaders intending to vote on the legislation this summer, the time to act is now.

You can watch a livestream here. 

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The CCAN Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For almost 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

 

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