Trump’s 'Big Beautiful Bill' Sacrifices Coal Country for Politics
New Memo Focuses on How Trump's Budget Dismantles Job-Creating Investments in Coal Communities
Washington, D.C., July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On July 4, President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) into law. This sweeping bill repeals clean energy and manufacturing investments and initiatives, and cuts funding for programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill includes several provisions that will negatively impact coal communities by cutting off access to programs designed to revitalize and diversify the economies of coal-dependent areas while creating good jobs.
“Donald Trump left coal communities out in the cold during his first term and he’s doing it again now. He talks a big game about defending coal communities, but his words are empty and his actions tell the real story,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh. “Trump isn’t interested in policies that will help the workers and communities bearing the brunt of the energy transition. Instead, he’s dismantling them and feeding families false hope just to help his rich friends get richer.”
Contact
If you have any questions, need additional information, or would like to set up an interview with one of our policy experts, please contact our Press Secretary, Justin Jackson at jjackson@bluegreenalliance.org or (951) 214-9108.
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Background
The “Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed into law by Donald Trump is yet another part of his agenda that serves as a direct attack on coal workers and communities. This bill accelerates the administration’s efforts to wipe out critical protections for miners, dismantle job-creating investments, and disrupt the economic future of coal communities across the country.
OBBBA is a Direct Attack on Progress in Coal Communities
The bill eliminates programs that have created union jobs, driven private investment, and safeguarded public and personal health. It includes deep cuts to the tax credits that support clean energy development and domestic manufacturing nationwide and essentially voids the tax bonus specifically targeted toward fossil fuel communities. In addition, it reverses the major progress already underway from the once-in-a-generation investments delivered through the Inflation Reduction Act—just as coal communities are beginning to feel the impact of those long-overdue benefits.
The OBBBA could be devastating to coal communities. The bill:
- Butchered clean energy tax credits, nullifying the bonus that specifically incentivizes developing clean energy projects in energy communities.
- Killed remaining funds for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund putting the Green Bank for Rural America in jeopardy even if the courts unfreeze their illegally withheld funds.
- Turned the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Financing loan program into the “Energy Dominance” loan program, diverting the attention of the program from reinvesting in long-term clean energy solutions to propping up financially struggling coal and natural gas plants.
- Expanded the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit to subsidize the production of metallurgical coal. Currently, the majority of metallurgical coal mined in the United States is exported. Companies will face no labor standards or requirements for the coal to be sold domestically to claim the full value of the tax credit.
Other actions by the administration:
- Attempted to close over a dozen Mine Safety and Health Administration field offices at a time when the agency is already short-staffed in its efforts to protect miners from harmful hazards and preventable accidents with regular and local inspections.
- Delayed implementation of silica standards, putting black lung protections for coal miners on hold indefinitely.
- Continues to withhold approximately $500 million from the Green Bank for Rural America, a recipient of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund awards that is dedicated to using its lending power to drive investments into rural communities and coal communities.
- Withheld grant funding for clean energy projects on mine lands, a program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Select projects have begun to move forward, though some still have not. Those projects face further headwinds due to the budget bill killing clean energy incentives.
- Quietly dissolved the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, a working group created to ensure federal resources sent to coal communities are effective, efficient, and in line with local needs and planning.
The BlueGreen Alliance Is Holding Trump and Congress Accountable
The Trump administration and Congress don't want to create jobs, lower energy costs, and build a better future. If they did, they would listen to communities, not ignore them. Their actions don’t just undercut progress—they undermine decades of work to secure legacy and hard-fought-for investments for coal communities.
The BlueGreen Alliance is ringing the alarm. We’re tracking every vote, flagging every broken promise, highlighting each investment, and calling out elected officials who put donors over workers. Coal communities deserve better and we’re making sure to hold elected officials accountable.
Justin Jackson BlueGreen Alliance (951) 214-9108 jjackson@bluegreenalliance.org
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