Posts Tagged ‘Black Lung Disability Trust Fund’
New report explains why West Virginia needs the Black Lung Excise Tax
This morning, advocates for miners with black lung and their families released a new report outlining the critically important impacts of the black lung excise tax and the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund in West Virginia. The report comes days after the excise tax rate was slashed due to Congressional inaction, gutting funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund that supports benefits for thousands of miners in West Virginia.
Read MorePOSTPONED: Miners with black lung launch two weeks of demonstrations urging Sen. Capito to back 10-year extension of Black Lung Excise Tax
Contact Trey Pollard, 202-904-9187, trey@pollardcommunications.com Due to inclement weather and the increased risk it poses to people with black lung, these demonstrations have been postponed. This press release was updated at 11 a.m. on Dec. 6. CHARLESTON, WV — Today, the National Black Lung Association announced it would hold two weeks of daily demonstrations to…
Read MoreHouse vote gives Senate an opportunity to spur clean energy investments in Appalachia
CONTACT: Molly Moore, Appalachian Voices Communications, (847) 401-3633, molly@appvoices.org Dana Kuhnline, Legislative Coordinator, (304) 825-3262, dana@appvoices.org Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, a bill that, if passed by the U.S. Senate, will deliver significant investments in Appalachian families and workers and create jobs bringing cleaner energy to our communities…
Read MoreCoal Miners & Advocates Applaud Introduction of 10-Year Extension of Excise Tax for Black Lung Disability Trust Fund
CONTACT: Rebecca Shelton, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, 859-893-0543, rshelton@aclc.org Chelsea Barnes, Appalachian Voices, 614-205-6424, chelsea@appvoices.org Trey Pollard, 202-904-9187, trey@pollardcommunications.com Please reach out if you’d like to speak to a local contact (policy expert, miner with black lung disease) about the Trust Fund or Excise Tax. APPALACHIA – Today, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH),…
Read MoreMiners with black lung call on Congress to protect benefits
In an August webinar, advocates and representatives of the Black Lung Association discussed the critical importance for the passage of a permanent 25% increase to the Black Lung Excise Tax on coal companies.
Read MoreBlack Lung Benefit Fund Would See Major Boost from Change to Coal Tax
Changing the structure of a tax that funds federal benefits for miners could bring tens of millions of dollars annually to the cash-strapped Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
Read MoreTighter silica rules needed to protect miners from black lung disease
Coal miners are legally allowed to be exposed to twice as much dangerous silica dust as any other worker. That needs to change.
Read MoreCongress includes one-year extension of black lung excise tax in omnibus spending bill
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 spending bill on the brink of expiration. CONTACT: Rebecca Shelton, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, 859-893-0543,…
Read MoreCovid’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.
Read MoreBlack 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.
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