WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) issued the following statement today regarding the inclusion of the Bipartisan American Miners Act—legislation protecting the health care and pension benefits for coal miners—in the final funding agreement reached.
Congress is expected to vote on the measure this week, which includes these benefits for miners and several other provisions that will benefit West Virginians.
“Protecting the health care and pension benefits for our coal miners has been one of my top priorities, and I am thrilled legislation protecting these benefits for our miners is included in the final funding package. I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote on this so we can send this to President Trump’s desk for his signature. I’m grateful to our West Virginia miners—who I’ve stood alongside throughout this entire process—for their hope, their patience, and the hard work they’ve done for decades to power our country. Leader McConnell, Senator Manchin, and I have worked in a bipartisan way on this issue, and I thank them both for their tireless efforts to make sure we secure these hard-earned benefits for our miners.”
The Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 will amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to transfer funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan to prevent its insolvency. It will also amend the Coal Act to include 2018 and 2019 bankruptcies in the miners’ healthcare fix that passed in 2017. These actions will secure the pensions of 92,000 coal miners and protect health care benefits for 13,000 miners and their healthcare.
Senator Capito introduced the legislation last month—along with Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).