For decades, coal companies ignored a federal requirement to provide enough funds for black lung benefits — and the government let them.
Blog Archives
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.
Intro: The Legacies of Coal
As Appalachia’s coal industry continues to decline, the scale of the damage it has cas becomes even more apparent.
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.
Calling on Legislators for Action in Washington, D.C.
In July, Appalachian Voices traveled to Capitol Hill alongside about 150 miners, widows and their loved ones to demand Congress to restore proper funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. And in June, we joined other organizations in a visit to D.C. to ask legislators to co-sponsor the RECLAIM Act to fast-track abandoned mine reclamation.
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.
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.
Battling for Black Lung Benefits
The deadly disease is on the rise, but funding for healthcare will be halved unless Congress acts this year.
Federal fund for black lung healthcare in danger
Our elected representatives need to step up and make sure coal companies pay their fair share toward healthcare for coal miners with black lung disease.
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