Submitted photo Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., addressed the West Virginia Coal Association during their annual membership meetings.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., joined the West Virginia Coal Association during their annual membership meeting to discuss the importance of coal in American energy dominance and the positive impact the One Big Beautiful Bill will have on the industry:

“West Virginia is the coal state, and I jump at every opportunity I get to discuss the industry and listen to what folks working in coal would like to see out of Washington. These people go to bat every day to heat our homes, support jobs across industries, and keep America moving – we ought to do everything we can to keep our miners mining. I am an energy guy from an energy state and will continue to support our coal producers as long as the Good Lord gives me the breath to do it,” said Justice.

Senator Justice has been an outspoken supporter of not only the coal industry, but the fossil fuels industry as a whole as a member of the Senate Energy Committee.

Recently, Senator Justice led Senate Republicans in introducing a coal tax credit in the One Big Beautiful Bill – which was applauded by the industry and complemented President Trump’s Executive Order designating coal as a critical earth element.

Senator Justice recently joined Fox Business to discuss the importance of a strong coal industry.

Also last week, Justice Justice introduced bipartisan legislation alongside U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA): 

“In West Virginia, we know the value of our forests and the importance of managing them wisely–not just for the beauty and recreation they offer, but also for the jobs and strengthening our economy. This bipartisan bill supports our rural economies, protects our communities from wildfires, and makes the most of what our land gives us. It’s a win for the economy, environment and for our people,” Justice said.

“70 percent of Montana’s forests are federally owned, and we need to be doing all we can to ensure we’re good stewards of these lands. I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill that will support proper forest management and create new markets for low value woody biomass,” said Senator Daines.

“To protect our communities from increasingly catastrophic wildfires, we need to make forest management more effective and scalable,” said Heinrich. “By expanding technology transfer at the Forest Service and turning small-diameter trees into marketable wood products, we can create new revenue streams, scale up fuels reduction, and accelerate the work needed to reduce wildfire risk.”

“Georgia’s forestry industry is vital to our state’s economy and I’m proud to work with my colleagues to find a bipartisan solution to invest in the future success of this sector,” said Senator Warnock.

The Forest Bioeconomy Act would:

• Create an Office of Technology Transfer at the Forest Service.

• Establish technology transfer agreements as key performance indicators for the USFS research division.

• Create a voucher program to give small businesses and startups discounted user fees for federal research equipment at USFS laboratories.

• Give the National Forest Foundation, the Congressionally chartered foundation for USFS, authorization to assist with the commercialization of USFS research.

• Create a coordinating entity to ensure that academic research on wood use is meeting the needs of the industry.