FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 4, 2022

UMWA Supports Bipartisan Bill to Ban Russian Energy Imports

[TRIANGLE, VA] The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today announced their support of legislation introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.) to ban fossil fuel energy imports into the United States from Russia.

The Ban Russians Energy Imports Act, released yesterday, would prohibit imports of coal, crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas from Russia. The United States imported over half a million barrels of oil per day from Russia in 2021.

“The blood of innocent Ukrainians is on that oil, gas and coal”, said UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts. “The United States should not be in any way funding this war by continuing to buy Russian exports. We should be focusing on using what this nation has to offer when it comes to energy sources. I applaud Senators Manchin, Murkowski, and the other cosponsors of this bill for their bold action. We are in full support.

“We also need to start manufacturing products that use coal in the U.S.,” Roberts said. “Right now, we ship millions of tons of metallurgical coal to China, which they in turn use to make steel and fabricate it into wind turbines and solar panels. They then ship those products back here. How does that make sense?

“Let’s put less focus on relying on other countries to provide our resources and look at what our own nation provides,” Roberts said. “Let’s stop supporting anti-democratic regimes and tyrants and focus on using the resources we have right in our own backyard.”

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