Black lung associations from across West Virginia urge Manchin and Capito to fix black lung benefits before end of year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2024

CONTACT
Trey Pollard – trey@pollardcommunications.com – 202-904-9187          

READ LETTER HERE

Charleston, W.Va.  — Today, the Kanawha, Fayette and Nicholas County chapters of the Black Lung Association in West Virginia sent a letter to Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito urging them to stand up for their constituents in the Mountain State by tackling the black lung benefits crisis this year.

“As you know, black lung is a terrible disease that results from prolonged exposure to coal dust,” the letter reads. “It can cause severe respiratory and other health problems, leading to significant disability and ultimately death. Despite the immense suffering endured by those affected, the monthly stipends provided to miners and their families are becoming more and more insufficient to meet basic household needs. Many of our members and families we know struggle to put food on the table and to pay for medical expenses that aren’t covered by the black lung benefits program.”

Currently tied to the federal pay scale rather than the cost of living, benefit rates for miners with black lung and their families are substantially lower than the cost of living in many coal mining communities, as indicated by research from Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and Appalachian Voices.

In the letter to their senators, miners and advocates ask Capito and Manchin to work together to prioritize increasing black lung benefits before a final FY25 budget is approved, specifically pushing for stipend language from the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act to be included in the final appropriations bill. Already, Manchin has been a sponsor of that important legislation which — among other things — would tie the monthly black lung stipend to inflation. However, so far, Capito has not sponsored any legislation related to fixing the black lung benefits crisis, meaning West Virginians could enter 2025 with no senators and no representatives in Congress who have acted to fix black lung benefits for coal miners.

“By raising the monthly stipend, you can provide much-needed relief to coal miners who have sacrificed so much for our nation. This increase will help to ensure that they have the resources necessary to maintain a decent quality of life,” the letter concludes.

When Congress created the stipend, it was tied to a fraction of the salary for one of the lowest-paid federal employees — a figure that doesn’t reflect rising inflation. Therefore, while inflation increased 8% entering 2023, the monthly stipend for a coal miner with black lung increased just 4%. Now, the benefits for a miner and a dependent in 2024 is $1,159 a month — more than $3,000 lower than the average cost of living for two people in coal communities like Indiana County, Pennsylvania; Pike County, Kentucky; and Kanawha County, West Virginia.