FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Keystone Research Center and ReImagine Appalachia Highlight Pivotal Importance of Build Back Better to NE PA as President Biden Visits Scranton
Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org, 215-510-9336
Harrisburg, October 20, 2021: President Biden speaks this afternoon at 5:15 pm at the Electric Trolley Museum in the town of his birth, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Keystone Research Center director, Stephen Herzenberg, who is also the co-director of the four-state ReImagine Appalachia campaign, is available to answer questions on the climate infrastructure elements of the Build Back Better Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. Jeff Garis, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center’s 99% PA campaign, is available to answer questions about other elements of the BBB Act.
In the context of the president’s visit, Dr. Herzenberg also issued the statement below:
“It is fitting that President Biden is shining a light on the potential of his Build Back Better agenda in Scranton. The anthracite coal region of Northeast Pennsylvania is the nation’s original ‘coal country,’ and has been fighting for decades to rebound from the loss of coal and manufacturing jobs. The BBB Act plus the bipartisan infrastructure plan are the best opportunities that northeast Pennsylvania has to restore shared prosperity and a strong middle class. For example, much of $11.3 billion for reclaiming abandoned mine lands in the bipartisan plan would come to the region, creating thousands of good union jobs, cleaning up our rivers, and restoring lands for economic development and outdoor recreation.
Northeastern PA, like other parts of Appalachian coal country, long provided energy that powered the nation’s prosperity, but much of the resulting wealth left the region. It is vital that the northeastern Pennsylvania congressional delegation support robust Build Back Better and infrastructure legislation that delivers to our region its due share of federal funding and tangible benefits to people. As well as repairing the damage from extraction, the final federal legislation must include funds for energy-efficient manufacturing, support for Appalachia and NE PA through the Re-POWER Act, and a revived Civilian Conservation Corps. All federal investment should also contain strong labor and community standards to ensure good wages, investment in high-quality labor-management apprenticeships, and creation of more good union jobs for all.”