Manchin, Kaine and Warner reintroduce Relief for Survivors of Miners Act

Jul. 21—Democrats Joe Manchin, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner have reintroduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that seeks to ease the burden on surviving family members of coal miners who have passed away due to black lung disease.

Manchin, D-W.Va., Kaine, D-Va. and Warner, D-Va., joined U.S. Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., U.S. Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa. and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in reintroduced the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act.

Manchin said "unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles" are impacting the ability of survivors of deceased miners to secure the benefits to which they are entitled. He said the proposed legislation would ease those restrictions.

"For generations, our brave miners and their families have made immense sacrifices to power West Virginia and America to greatness," Manchin said. "Far too often, the surviving family members of coal miners lost to black lung disease face difficulties in securing the benefits they are entitled to. I'm proud to reintroduce the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act, which will help cut through the bureaucratic red tape that can delay access to these benefits, as well as improve access to legal representation for miners and their survivors. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help pass this common sense legislation that supports our coal miners and their families who have given so much to our nation."

"The last thing grieving families in Virginia's mining communities should have to worry about is whether or not they'll be able to put food on the table or a roof over their heads," Warner added. "But too often survivors of miners who have lost their lives to Black Lung are denied benefits they deserve because of unfair and unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles."

"Virginia's mining communities have made tremendous sacrifices to power our nation, and the families of miners who lost their lives to black lung disease deserve our support," Kaine said. "This bill is critical to removing unnecessary red tape that has prevented families from accessing benefits and expanding resources to help families secure the support they need."

The Black Lung Benefits Act, passed by Congress in 1976, provides monthly benefits to eligible surviving family members of coal miners whose deaths were due to black lung, a disease caused and exacerbated by long-term inhalation of coal and silica dust. The benefits are either paid for by coal mining companies or the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

The legislation reintroduced Thursday by Manchin, Kaine, Warner, Fetterman, Casey and Brown would:

—Re-establish a rebuttable presumption that a miner's death was due to Black Lung if they were disabled due to pneumoconiosis at the time of death

—Improve access to legal representation for miners and survivors of miners to ensure that individuals are not unable to secure benefits due to a lack of financial resources.

—Request that the Government Accountability Office provide a report to Congress on the financial impact of recouping interim Department of Labor payments in order to determine the financial impact of black lung benefits and interim payments on black lung beneficiaries and the government.

—Request that the Government Accountability Office look at other ways to improve the black lung benefits claims process for survivors of miners.

Earlier this year, Manchin, Kaine and Warner urged the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the adequacy of black lung benefits to ensure they meet the income and health care needs of disabled miners and their families.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens