WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., are part of a group of senators that introduced legislation Thursday to fund pensions for retired coal miners.
The lawmakers announced in a joint statement the Miners Pension Protection Act, which would transfer excess funds from the Abandoned Mine Land fund to fund the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan.
According to the statement, the plan will become insolvent if action is not taken as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis.
The new bill would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which established a program for regulating surface mine activities and restoring mined lands.
“We cannot allow for this issue to be put off until the deadline only to punt it with extensions,” Manchin said. “For most of these retired miners, their pension is the difference between paying the bills or being kicked out of their house, putting food on their tables or going hungry.”
Congress passed a $1.2 trillion funding bill on May 4, which included a permanent fix for funding health care for more than 22,000 coal miners and their families. The legislation, House Resolution 244, did not include a solution for funding miners’ pensions.
If nothing is done, more than 120,000 retired miners and their widows would lose the benefits.
“The Miners Pension Protection Act is our commitment to continue the fight for these hardworking men and women,” Capito said. “This legislation will help ensure they receive the pensions they’ve earned through years of hard work. So many West Virginians are still facing uncertain futures.”
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, were the other senators introducing the legislation. Fourteen other senators cosponsored the legislation.
Cecil Roberts, president of United Mine Workers of America International, released a statement Thursday in support of the Miners Pension Protection Act.
“These are not rich pensions. The average monthly pension check is $586 dollars,” he said. “Many thousands receive checks that are under $400 per month. That may not sound like a lot in Washington, D.C., but it is the difference between buying food or paying the electric bill for these retirees and widows, who live in every state in America.”
Manchin introduced Senate Bill 175 in January to fund health care and retirement benefits for miners. The legislation did not leave the Senate Finance Committee, though the portion regarding health care was included in the appropriations bill passed by Congress.