Coal-country advocates are urging the Trump administration and Congress to do more for out-of-work miners.

The White House and Republicans say they have notched some victories for coal workers already this year, including undoing Obama administration regulations they said would squeeze employment.

But few analysts outside of the administration think those actions will bring back jobs in the coal industry, which has been stung by declining demand for its product and increased automation along the mining process.

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Reformers and some lawmakers say the administration and Congress need to expand their focus beyond cutting regulations to helping out-of-work miners who are going to struggle to find jobs.

“I think outright saying that it’s never coming back and there is no rebound is probably not the safest way to go,” said Sarah Bowling, a member of the advocacy group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

“But I think acknowledging that if we don’t have a plan for the future, if we don’t look forward, there is going to be no way to help these communities save themselves.”

Beginning with his presidential campaign, President Trump has focused on reviving the coal industry and putting miners back to work.

Trump last week signed an executive order to begin rolling back Obama administration regulations on the energy sector, something the president and his top officials said would create coal jobs.

Trump is less interested in overhauling coal country’s economy: His first budget proposal would end funding for an economic development office called the Appalachian Regional Commission, and he has said putting workers back in the mines is his top priority.

"I went to a group of miners in West Virginia," Trump said before he signed his energy order last week, recounting a story from the campaign trail.

"I said, 'How about this: Why don't we get together, we'll go to another place, and you'll get another job, you won't mine anymore. Do you like that idea?' They said, 'No, we don't like that idea, we love to mine, that's what we want to do.' And I said, 'If that's what you want to do, that's what you're going to do.’”

But observers and lawmakers from Appalachia, where the coal industry has crumbled, say more work needs to be done for former workers.

“I think a lot more about the remnants of the coal economy because I’m from a part of the world where that’s all we have,” Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) said.

Trump’s rhetoric is “the most superficial, low-information approach you can imagine, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are people hurting in these regions.”

Activists have a long wish list.

First, several lawmakers have rallied around a bill called the RECLAIM Act, which would pump federal funds into economically distressed areas of Appalachia as a way to create jobs and attract new industries.

The bill is similar to one written last year, though some groups say it’s a watered-down product that needs to focus more on directly overhauling the economies of former coal communities.

“Yes, the cleanup is great and it needs to happen, but the longer terms jobs are in the economic development that will come” with bringing in new industries, said Bill Price, a senior organizing representative for the Sierra Club based in Charleston, W.Va.

“This is just not going to satisfy that need.”

The bill has powerful supporters in Congress. Rep. Hal Rodgers (R-Ky.), who introduced the House version, used to chair the Appropriations Committee, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE (R-Ky.) has cosponsored a version in the Senate.

“President Trump signaled his commitment to this endeavor recently by signing the Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth executive order to review burdensome regulations on coal mining,” the pair wrote in an op-ed for The Hill this week.

“However, we should also consider important proposals like this bill to provide financial, environmental and economic support to hard-hit coal regions.”

Democrats and Republicans from coal country are also opposed to Trump’s proposal to cut funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“It makes no sense,” said Cartwright, a RECLAIM Act cosponsor. “To zero that out is to betray so many Appalachian voters who voted for him because he promised to make their lives better.”

Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) said he has been “very heartened” by the reassurances from the Trump administration for coal country. But he said appropriators wouldn’t follow Trump’s lead on the commission.

“The very broad budget blueprint shows we’ve got some work to do on the appropriations side, so we make sure we use the power of the purse to back up that commitment,” he said.

Members are also working on a fix for pension and healthcare benefits packages for retired miners.

A mining pension fund is approaching insolvency due to coal company bankruptcies. Senators have introduced a bill to shore up the fund and support retiree health benefits, an issue that nearly held up a government spending bill in December.

“We’ve got more bipartisan [support], more people are aware of it,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore CapitoGOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure Hillicon Valley: Zuckerberg acknowledges failure to take down Kenosha military group despite warnings | Election officials push back against concerns over mail-in voting, drop boxes Bipartisan senators call for investigation of popular fertility app MORE (R-W.Va.), a bill sponsor. “After December I think people really started to look into it more, so they’re more knowledgeable on the issue.”

Trump’s allies in Congress say the administration is on board with their efforts.

Trump in January responded to a Capito letter about the miner benefits with a handwritten note that said, “Great — I am all for the miners.” She said Trump is “all on board with this.”

But some activists say his goals are out of step with what coal country really needs.

“If the president really wants to help the workers, then there needs to be a recognition that this industry is not going to come back in any meaningful way,” Price said.