A one-year extension of the excise tax that funds the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is included in the 2021 omnibus spending bill. This is the second year in a row that a one-year extension has been included in the…
Blog Archives
Congress includes one-year extension of black lung excise tax in omnibus spending bill
TAGS: 116th Congress Biden administration black lung association Black Lung Disability Trust Fund black lung disease coal miners
Covid’s impact on coal sharpens the pandemic’s economic hardships
Even before the pandemic, a growing number of coal companies were declaring bankruptcy — and now the decades-long decline of coal is in a nosedive. This will leave already-shortchanged coalfield communities even less money to deal with decades of damage to people’s health and the environment.
TAGS: abandoned mine lands AML reauthorization Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Coal coal decline coal production covid-19 Economy just transition
Black Lung Healthcare Legislation Sees Progress
Congress temporarily reinstated a tax on coal companies that funds black lung benefits for miners and their families in December. Advocates continue to push for further protections for coal workers.
Progress on healthcare for miners with black lung disease
Congress reinstated a tax to fund healthcare and benefits for miners with black lung and their families for 2020 — but further action is needed to extend the tax and support the fund for 10 years.
Bills Support Miners’ Pensions, Black Lung Benefits
A Senate bill would help fund miners’ pensions, including those affected by recent bankruptcies. In the House, a bill would re-instate a historic tax on coal companies to fund healthcare for miners with black lung disease.
Bankruptcies Highlight Concerns with Black Lung Benefits Fund
Coal company bankruptcies are putting the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund in further jeopardy.
Blackjewel’s black lung problem
Bankrupt coal company Blackjewel owes nearly $10 million in taxes to the fund that provides benefits to miners with black lung disease whose employer has gone bankrupt.
TAGS: bankruptcy Black Lung black lung association Black Lung Disability Trust Fund black lung disease blackjewel
Miners Take Black Lung Demands to D.C.
Approximately 150 Appalachian coal miners, widows and their loved ones visited Capitol Hill in July to demand that Congress reinstate a tax rate on coal companies for black lung healthcare and benefits.
TAGS: Black Lung Disability Trust Fund black lung disease coal miners United Mine Workers of America
Coal miners visit D.C. to urge Congress to act on Black Lung legislation
More than 150 coal miners or their widows and loved ones traveled to D.C. in July to call for action on black lung legislation.
Over 100 Miners Heading to Washington to Advocate for Black Lung Benefits
Over 100 miners from across the Appalachian region are traveling to Washington D.C. this week to lobby lawmakers on a number of issues related to black lung disease, a fatal respiratory condition caused by continuous exposure to harmful dust and rock particles in and around coal mines.
TAGS: appalachia Appalachian Culture Appalachian Voices Black Lung Black Lung Disability Trust Fund black lung disease blacklungkills Coal Coal mining employee benefits Environment Health mountaintop removal coal mining
