Oh what a tangled web.
On August 11, the Senate voted to approve a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that would mark the nation’s most significant investment in the fight against climate change ever undertaken in the United States. Sen. @JoeManchin cast the tie-breaking vote.
The resolution’s approval kicked off a legislative process likely to last months, all of it hinging on Manchin’s continued support. Not long after casting his vote, he issued a public statement warning the bill’s backers not to take him for granted.
Though Manchin’s motivations are often ascribed to the conservative, coal-friendly politics of West Virginia, it is also the case that the state’s senior senator is heavily invested in the industry — and owes much of his considerable fortune to it.
For the first time, a Type Investigations and Intercept analysis of public records reveals the impact of Manchin’s coal firms.
For decades, Manchin has profited from a series of coal companies that he founded during the 1980s. His son, Joe Manchin IV, has since assumed leadership roles in the firms, and the senator says his ownership is held in a blind trust.
Yet between the time he joined the Senate and today, Manchin has personally grossed more than $4.5 million from those firms, according to financial disclosures. He also holds stock options in Enersystems Inc., the larger of the two firms, valued between $1 and $5 million.
As well as hundreds of thousands of tons of carcinogenic coal ash dumped across Marion County, these coal firms have relied on mines and refuse piles cited for dozens of Mine Safety and Health Administration violations, multiple deaths, and wastewater discharging.
On Thursday, Manchin urged Democratic leaders to “pause” their consideration of the $3.5 trillion spending bill, citing concerns about debt and inflation.
Read the full story, in partnership with Type Investigations: https://interc.pt/3n2nUNy
Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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