The American Clean Energy and Securities Act better known as the “cap and trade” bill passed the House last week and is headed to the United States Senate.
The cap and trade bill aims to reduce global warming by charging companies for carbon emissions.
If a company is responsible for producing more carbon than allowed by the “cap,” the company will be fined.
Also, companies who pollute more can buy carbon emission credits from companies that pollute less.
Bill supporters say the legislation has plenty of money for carbon sequestration and other coal technologies.
The bill has coal miners worried about their future. Jeff Pack works at a mine in Raleigh County.
“Cap and trade could seriously hinder the coal industry in such a way that might cause me to lose my job," he said.
On Monday, Jeff, his wife Shana, and 6-week old daughter Madison joined about 15 other people at the Raleigh County Convention Center. As she fed her newborn a bottle, Shana stood by her husband.
“I’m afraid he’ll lose his job,” she said. “It’s hard to find a job anyway around here.”
The couple is two of the first members of a new pro-coal organization called Southern West Virginians for Coal.
“There are real people with real families with real bills and real needs and the coal industry supports them,” he said.
“These people that get up every day or my case every night and go to work all night to support their family and we certainly don’t want to lose an industry that pays.”
Roman Stauffer runs the conservative blog called West Virginia Red. He says Southern West Virginians for Coal is getting financial support from the West Virginia Conservative Foundation.
“I think folks have realized that there is an attack on coal coming out of our nation’s capital by the Obama administration and leaders in Congress,” he said.
Despite conservative involvement, Stauffer says the group is a bipartisan group and simply pro-coal.
“They’re concerned that cap and trade would result in less West Virginia coal being used and less West Virginia coal miners being employed,” he said.
He says the idea started with concerned citizens at the Tax Day Tea parties, a protest against government spending. Now, the group is fighting to stop the cap and trade bill from passing the Senate. He says it would be devastating for the state.
“West Virginia depends on coal for a lot of its revenue and that revenue is used to pay for programs and roads throughout West Virginia so when coal suffers the state of West Virginia suffers as well,” he said.
Tim Boothe is the president of Cramer Security, a company that works with coal industry frequently. He’s now the spokesman for this pro-coal group as well.
“When you pass this bill the cost of coal producing will increase the coast of coal usage will increase electric bill will increase we believe we’re going to lose jobs,” he said.
Coal miner Jeff Pack says many of his co-workers went straight into the mines after graduating high school and he’s concerned about their future if the cap and trade bill passes.
“While often times it works well 3 miles deep into a mountain, I’m not certain how those skills translate out into another jobs in other industries,” Pack said.
“Not that they can’t do it or they can’t learn I’m just concerned that, what do we do? I don’t know the answer to that.”
The bill also contains money to retrain workers for green jobs. Union powerhouse UMWA has stopped short of endorsing the bill, but has said it will ensure coal's future.
The group is hosting an event on July 18 at the Raleigh County Convention Center in Beckley. Stauffer says he plans to invite Congressman Nick Rahall to speak at the event.
All three West Virginia representatives in the House voted against the “cap and trade” bill.