From the perspective of the coal industry, it really does seem like Senator Manchin gave away the store, according to this article:
Interesting article, thanks for sharing. The article depicts the mine workers’ union and black lung victims to be very supportive of the package, but mine owners, not so much. It looks like it provides a lot of money for the state on the assumption coal is declining and will end which seems like a safe bet but a hard truth. The question is how voters who aren’t close to the issue will respond.
From the article: "The Nature Conservancy and West Virginia Chamber of Commerce released a survey last year finding that most West Virginians believe that the state should reduce its reliance on coal and shift to renewable energy sources, a significant shift in public opinion."
I think the coal industry folks will be spending lots of money to try to appeal to West Virginians, but the reality is that coal is not a major employer anymore and thus is not essential to as many West Virginians as it was even ten years ago, so opinions will shift.
