Changing the structure of the tax on coal mining that funds federal benefits for miners could bring tens of millions of dollars annually to the cash-strapped Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Currently, the fund does not receive any revenue from exported coal.
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…
As the Blackjewel bankruptcy continues, the responsibility to reclaim mine sites and workers’ compensation for past medical bills are still major issues.
As coal miners with black lung disease have a heightened risk of complications from coronavirus, black lung healthcare providers work to respond to the global pandemic.
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.
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.
Dozens of retired coal miners came to the capitol and called on Washington lawmakers to pass legislation to preserve pensions for tens of thousands of retired and working miners.
In February, a federal judge allowed Westmoreland Coal Company to terminate benefits for current and retired coal miners.
The site of West Virginia’s Blair Mountain labor conflict between coal miners and law enforcement was placed back on the National Register of Historic Places after a federal judge ruled its delisting to be unlawful.
A recent study shows that black lung disease in Appalachian coal miners is at a 25-year high — but federal taxes on coal companies that help compensate affected miners are set to expire next year.
