Miners Protection Act Advances

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved a bill aimed at guaranteeing pension and healthcare benefits for more than 100,000 union coal miners, retirees and their families. The Miners Protection Act would preserve United Mine Workers of America pension plans by redirecting interest earned on coal industry fees from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The bill’s strongest supporters — West Virginia Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito — are calling on Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule a final vote before the end of the year.

— Brian Sewell