Six Democratic coal-state U.S. senators appealed to House and Senate leadership to include permanent protections for retired miners' healthcare and pensions in a short-term spending package aimed at preventing the government from closing in October.
In a Sept. 16 letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the senators asked leadership to "honor the promises made" to coal miners. Those "promises" include permanent protection for retiree health care, pension benefits and an extension of the coal excise tax that contributes to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, all of which constitute "literally a life and death issue for thousands of families across this country."
The Democrats — which include West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, Doug Jones of Alabama, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine — wrote that they were alarmed to learn in July that 1,200 retired coal miners, their beneficiaries and dependents would lose their healthcare benefits at the end of the calendar year.
"If we don't take action now, these families in Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Colorado, North Dakota and New Mexico will begin receiving health care termination notices at the end of October," the letter states. "Without congressional action to keep this from happening, they will spend their holiday season worrying about whether or not they will have to choose between their life-saving medications and putting food on the table."
While they praised the House for advancing legislation to secure miners' health care and pension benefits, the Senate has not taken up relevant legislation on the topics this year, according to the letter. In January, the senators introduced the American Miners Act of 2019 to protect miners' pensions and health care benefits as well as extend the coal excise tax that supports miners suffering from black lung disease, but it has not advanced.
