APPALACHIAN VOICES

Agriculture

Farm bill - retaining investments in rural electric utilities and rural energy programs related to clean energy. Supporting retaining funding for rural clean energy programs in FY2025 annual appropriations bill. Support funding for the USDA rural Disaster Home Repair Program, Emergency Watershed Protection Program, and Rural Partners Network Program. Expand federal disaster recovery programs to explicitly include funding for private bridge repair and rebuilding these bridges to higher flood resilience standards; including expanding funding for USDAs Rural Disaster Home Repair Program. Increase funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. Support for requiring the Forest Service to require forest plans to incorporate slope stability and landslide best management practices. Support for increasing technical capacity at the Forest Service related to landslides. Support for the Making Access To Cleanup Happen (MATCH) Act of 2023.

TargetedSENATE · HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bankruptcy

Generally advocating for policies that prevent coal companies from using bankruptcy to avoid responsibility for liabilities such as black lung payments and coal reclamation.

TargetedSENATE · HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement