|
Dear Friend,
I’m writing to you about the outbreak of black lung disease that’s happening in Southwest Virginia and across coal country. I’ve got some bad news, some pretty good news, and an update on what I’m doing in the Senate to address this crisis.
The bad news is that last year, Congress allowed a key revenue source for the Black Lung Disability Trust fund to expire. That’s the fund that coal companies have paid into over the years to cover the cost of treatment for miners who develop black lung. Without this money, the fund would be at risk of insolvency in the coming years. In July, I met with miners from Southwest Virginia who were suffering from black lung and promised I’d fight to make sure that didn’t happen.
The pretty good news I have for you today is that, after a year of fighting, I was able to keep that promise and temporarily extend the black lung revenue source as part of the government funding bill that passed in December.
While this one-year extension is key to sustaining black lung treatment resources in the short-term, it’s frankly not a long-term solution.
That’s why I joined this week with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Kaine, and a group of coal state senators to introduce legislation that will shore up the black lung fund through 2030, providing some much-needed stability for miners and their families. Virginia’s miners worked hard and sacrificed their bodies to power this country, and I’m committed to fighting to protect the healthcare benefits they’ve earned.
If you want to share your thoughts about an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
|
