FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2026
CONTACT
Quenton King, Government Affairs Specialist, (304) 579-7366, quenton@appvoices.org
COAL COUNTRY – Today, Appalachian Voices and partners unveiled the 2026 Federal Black Lung Policy Platform. It is intended to provide federal lawmakers with a policy framework to address the scourge of black lung disease and improve the Black Lung Program for coal miners and their families.
The platform sponsors crafted the platform based on decades of work with coal mining families and communities that have advocated for stronger protections for coal miners. Read the platform.
Rates of black lung disease have increased in the last two decades after declining following federal mine safety legislation in the 1970s. A major driver in the rise of black lung disease is respirable silica dust, which is more toxic than coal dust. In 2024, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration and Department of Labor finalized a rule to protect miners from silica dust. However, some members of Congress have tried to block MSHA from implementing these vital protections for miners. The rule is still on hold after an industry lawsuit, and MSHA announced last November that it plans to redo provisions of the rule.
For coal miners with black lung, it can be difficult to access the Black Lung Program due to its complexities and how strongly coal companies fight miners’ benefit claims. If miners finally succeed, they are entitled to a monthly disability stipend. However, the stipend hasn’t kept pace with inflation since it was created over 50 years ago. With coal miners getting black lung earlier in their careers and with inflation rising, the stipend simply doesn’t go as far as it used to for these families. Members of Congress have introduced legislation to increase the benefit but no such bill has received a floor vote.
“Tackling black lung disease and supporting coal mining families is not a partisan issue,” said Appalachian Voices Government Affairs Specialist Quenton King. “We are seeing a younger generation of miners being hit with an even more aggressive form of this disease due to silica dust. This platform is a roadmap for lawmakers to honor the sacrifices these workers have made by ensuring they have the protections they deserve and a disability benefit that actually reflects the cost of living in 2026.”
“We know how to prevent black lung, and we know how to support miners who have contracted this deadly disease,” said Dana Kuhnline, Program Director for ReImagine Appalachia. “It is shameful that we struggle year after year to put these commonsense policies into place. No one deserves to get sick because of their job, and no child deserves to see their parent get sick because they were providing for their family. I hope that this is the year our lawmakers are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on behalf of the miners who have sacrificed so much to keep our country running.”
