Manchin Profits From Coal Sales to Utility Lobby

Last month, Senate Energy Committee Chair Joe Manchin defended the continued burning of coal in remarks delivered to the annual conference of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a top trade association of electric utilities. 

Sen. Manchin expressed skepticism about the Biden administration’s goals to halve greenhouse gas emissions from their 2005 levels by 2030, a policy target for which there are still no binding laws. In the current Congress, Manchin’s vote would almost certainly be necessary for the Senate to approve plans to reduce polluting emissions, which would require a clean-energy transition for the coal industry of West Virginia.