The House Appropriations Committee has included a provision in the annual appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education that would block funding for the recently finalized rule to protect miners from silica dust — a significant driver of the resurgence of black lung disease in Central Appalachia.
Expected new silica dust regulations in mines could combat the rise of black lung disease. However, the effects of an ongoing federal silica enforcement initiative remain unclear.
On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared a new study that sounds a clear alarm bell to leaders across the country about the dire need for a renewed focus on safeguarding the health of coal miners across the country.
With just a few weeks remaining in this session of Congress, we’re fighting one alarming bill, working to pass two positive measures, and urging the Senate to confirm key appointments. Our Legislative Director Chelsea Barnes shares what’s happening on Capitol Hill.
Miners with black lung disease face a difficult process to obtain modest benefits, as do their widows. Two bills in Congress aim to help miners with the disease and their bereaved families, including by tying benefit levels to inflation.
Amid an ongoing surge in severe black lung disease among coal miners, federal lawmakers have introduced a number of bills aimed at assisting affected miners and their families. The Inflation Reduction Act shored up funding for benefits, and advocates are pushing for additional measures.
Changing the structure of a tax that funds federal benefits for miners could bring tens of millions of dollars annually to the cash-strapped Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
Coal miners are legally allowed to be exposed to twice as much dangerous silica dust as any other worker. That needs to change.
A one-year extension of the excise tax that funds the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is included in the 2021 omnibus spending bill. This is the second year in a row that a one-year extension has been included in the…
For decades, coal companies ignored a federal requirement to provide enough funds for black lung benefits — and the government let them.
