Exponent Telegram: West Virginia delegation introduces bill to protect miner pensions
Washington, DC,
October 4, 2017
Tags:
Energy & Environment
Members of West Virginia's congressional delegation are again leading the charge to protect pensions for more than 86,000 coal miners and their families, about 26,000 of whom live in West Virginia.
Members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation are again leading the charge to protect pensions for more than 86,000 coal miners and their families, about 26,000 of whom live in West Virginia. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., are key sponsors of the American Miners Pension Act, a bill introduced to continue funding mine pensions promised under the administration of President Harry Truman in 1946. Without some form of legislation, funding to continue paying for coal mine pensions will start to run out by 2020 or 2022, Manchin has said. In 1946, Truman promised, and the House of Representatives and Senate agreed, that the government would provide health-care coverage and pensions for retired coal miners and their families. … “Congress made a commitment back in ’46,” McKinley agreed. “We need to keep that promise. We’ve got to give these folks peace of mind.” Capito said funding miner pensions is a matter of fairness. “This is something that has been earned, expected and counted on,” she said. But the bill may be a hard sell on Capitol Hill. Past plans to fund miner health benefits and pensions that used Abandoned Mine Lands funding were opposed by lawmakers from Wyoming. Manchin said Wyoming pays a lot of money into the Abandoned Mine Lands fund, but uses fairly little of the money compared to states like West Virginia. For the rest of the article click here. |
