Provisions to permanently extend health benefits for retired coal miners were included in the government spending bill that the House approved this week with strong support from U.S. Reps. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) and Bill Shuster (R-PA).
The omnibus government funding bill includes language from the Helping Ensure Long-term Protection (HELP) for Coal Miners Health Care Act that would permanently extend health benefits for 22,600 retired coal miners and dependents.
Miners won health care and pension benefits in 1946 when President Harry Truman signed the Krug-Lewis agreement. But benefits for retired miners and their families have faced uncertainty since environmental concerns and market conditions led to numerous coal industry bankruptcies in recent years.
Miners were made a promise, Jenkins said, and Congress is keeping that pledge with the inclusion of provisions from the HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act in the government spending bill. The Senate on Thursday approved the spending bill that will keep the federal government running until the end of the fiscal year in September, sending it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
Jenkins had worked for months behind the scenes with House and Senate leadership, urging them to provide a permanent fix to the health care issue for miners.
“Miners, their families and their widows have been asking Congress for years and years to get this done,” Jenkins said. “Now, thanks to the support of House and Senate leadership and President Trump, we were able to secure this permanent solution — and peace of mind — for our miners and their families. This agreement is yet another victory for West Virginia in this Congress, where we are stopping the Obama administration’s anti-coal policies.”
Jenkins and Shuster both cosponsored the HELP for Coal Miners Health Care Act and worked with the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA) on a permanent solution for the retired coal miners’ Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan funding shortfalls.
“With my support, the House of Representatives passed (on Wednesday) a permanent fix to the crisis facing our coal miners’ health benefits,” Shuster said. “This is a massive win for thousands of coal miners in western Pennsylvania and across Appalachia, and I thank President Trump for following through on his promise that he would support coal communities.”
The nation has relied on coal for decades, Shuster added, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for miners to lose their health benefits because the Obama administration “decided to fight a war on the coal industry.”
“My office has received hundreds of calls from distressed coal miners and their families, and I’m proud we have found a solution that will give them instant relief and peace of mind,” Shuster said.