Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) urged the West Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate to pass House Bill 2882. This bill provides over $100 million upfront in subsidies to a company named FORM Energy.
The company has announced plans to build a giant battery factory in Weirton that reportedly, would employ up to 750 people. Normally, new job creation in our state is welcomed news, but the details of this endeavor should alarm all West Virginians.
FORM Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo has stated that the company's mission is to: "rid the world of coal, oil, and gas."
It also appears that Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, who have been pushing Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) to support the "green" agenda, are major investors in FORM Energy, and there are growing concerns about China's involvement.
While I am for attracting new jobs to the Mountain State, West Virginia taxpayers should not be forced to fund a war on affordable energy and the jobs these resources create. Nor should Governor Justice and Senator Manchin be supporting legislation that attacks our free markets and picks winners and losers in the energy sector.
Generations of hardworking Mountaineers have mined the coal and produced the oil and gas that power and build our great nation. These great American resources continue to provide over 100,000 well-paying jobs and help sustain hundreds of thousands more in our local communities.
I encourage all of you to join me in contacting our state senators and telling them to VOTE NO on WV HB 2882. Our leaders must do a better job recruiting quality businesses to our state, defending our current jobs, and defending our way of life.
Chris Rose (R-WV)
Candidate for US Senate and West Virginia’s Blue-Collar Conservative