"Hillary Clinton Woos Coal Communities"

"Candidates for the Democratic nomination for president are scrambling to show that they care about the coal miners and communities that are suffering due to the industry’s downturn.

Frontrunner Hillary Clinton last week released a $30 billion plan to safeguard pensions, retrain workers, fund local schools, update telecommunications and lure new businesses to these communities. Just the week before, her top rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, stood in front of the Capitol with other Democratic Senators and vowed to protect workers even as he declared that it’s time to start keeping coal in the ground to fight climate change.

Republicans and industry representatives blasted Clinton’s proposal. 'I think it’s a cynical ploy to gain votes in coal producing states,' said Stuart Sanderson, president of the Colorado Coal Association. 'It would be a crying shame to destroy jobs in the coal industry and then soak tax payers for an expensive governmental program that is likely to be inadequate. There’s just no way to replace high paying jobs in this industry.'"
 
Elizabeth Shogren reports for High Country News November 17, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"America's Coal Country Plans for Life Beyond the Mine" (Christian Science Monitor)

"The Tricky Politics of Hillary Clinton's Plan To Modernize Coal Country" (Chicago Tribune)

"America’s ‘Poorest White Town’ in E. Ky. Coal Country" (Harlan Daily Enterprise)

"In Coal Country, No Cash On Hand For Billions In Cleanup" (Montana Public Radio)