Trump to Give Coal Industry More Handouts While Americans Pay

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Washington, D.C. — Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to give the coal industry access to potentially hundreds of millions of dollars, even as the industry has been in decline for nearly two decades. This would be in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars the administration has already forced onto the public on their electric bills through illegal coal bailouts, as well as the allocation of $525 million of taxpayer dollars to upgrade coal plants. In his memorandum, Trump references the “energy emergency” he declared on the first day of presidency. Reporting shows that there has been little to no information supporting the claim that propping up coal plants would improve this “emergency.”

Despite coal plants being more expensive than renewable energy to operate and far more deadly than renewable energy, the Trump administration continues to prop up the coal industry — including breaking the law to extend retiring coal plants, paying off energy companies to forego renewable energy projects, and giving coal companies handout after handout.

In response, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Director Laurie Williams issued the following statement: 

“While Americans struggle with soaring energy bills, Trump is handing billions to coal CEOs instead of investing in renewable energy that’s cheaper, cleaner, and faster to get online. Americans need relief — not a bailout for millionaires dressed up as an emergency. The real emergency is the skyrocketing cost of living and families struggling to make ends meet. The answer is cheaper, cleaner renewable energy now to address the affordability emergency that is of Trump’s own making.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.