Sen. Bennet Joins Sen. Manchin's Bill to Secure Black Lung Disability Trust Fund

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colorado, issued the following news release:

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet co-sponsored U.S. Senator Joe Manchin's (D-W. Va.) Black Lung Benefits Disability Trust Fund Act, legislation that calls for a ten-year extension of the black lung excise tax rate, which expired at the end of last year. This will help ensure that coal miners suffering from black lung disease and their families have access to the quality medical care they need. Without revenue from the tax, the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is at risk of becoming insolvent at a time when the number of black lung cases is rapidly increasing.

"For decades, coal miners sacrificed their health to power communities in Colorado and across our country," said Bennet. "We have an obligation to ensure the miners who suffer from black lung disease can access treatment and medical care. I'm working with my colleagues to pass this legislation and protect the Trust Fund for miners and their families."

"Workers and families living with black lung health impacts deserve adequate compensation that they can count on for the long haul," said Emily Hornback, Executive Director, Western Colorado Alliance. "It's time to get a long term fix for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund for families here in Colorado and across the country."

"Ensuring the solvency of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is a critical way we can step up for Colorado's coal miners. Statistics show that there has been a 12 fold increase in black lung in the last 30 years, which translates to more cases of black lung now and in the future. It is critical the fund has sufficient funding for the wellbeing of miners and their families," said Roger Carver, former coal miner and former President of United Mine Worker Local 1281.

The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is financed primarily by an excise tax on coal produced and sold domestically. This tax was first established in 1978 at $0.50 per ton on underground-mined coal and $0.25 per ton on surface-mined coal. The rates were later raised to $1.10 per ton for underground-mined coal and $0.55 per ton for surface-mined coal. Due to congressional inaction. Those rates expired on December 31, 2021.

Since 1973, Colorado miners have filed more than 7,200 applications for black lung disability benefits. A full fact sheet on black lung disease in Colorado is available here: https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/4/5/45ec5785-4a30-4bdf-84b8-f39920303058/7127A553987FC34FBC9516D51FAFEACE.colorado-black-lung-statistics-2021-1-.pdf.

The bill text is available here: http://bennet.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/a/6/a662cf6a-194e-4096-ab88-48104b6e0935/B178F82BF4DB8F159F22795BE1D9C104.black-lung-benefits-disability-trust-fund-act-of-20211.pdf

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To: The Honorable Robert C. Scott, Chairman, House Education & Labor Committee, Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patty Murray, Chair, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Neal, Chairman, House Ways & Means Committee, Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ron Wyden, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee, Washington, DC 20510

January 13, 2022

Dear Chairpersons Scott, Neal, Murray, and Wyden:

On December 31st, 2021, the single source of revenue for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (BLDTF) was cut by more than half. Thousands of coal miners and their families rely on the BLDTF to pay their benefits - health insurance and a small living stipend. The living stipend for a miner is less than $700 a month, but the health insurance can make all the difference for the survival of families dealing with this awful disease. The stipend, though small, is often one of the primary sources of income for widows and family members left behind when miners succumb to the disease.

The only source of revenue for the BLDTF is a small excise tax on domestically sold coal. If the tax is cut or goes away, taxpayers end up picking up the bill, the Trust Fund goes further into debt, and the benefits that miners have earned are put under a cloud of uncertainty. That's why the Black Lung Association has been fighting for a long-term extension of the excise tax. Legislation introduced by Representative Scott and Senators Manchin, Warner, Casey, Kaine, and Brown would extend the excise tax at its historic rate for ten years, but this legislation needs your support to pass. For the past two years, the historic excise tax rate ($1.10 per ton for underground coal and $0.55 for surface-mined coal) has been maintained by one-year extender bills, but our mining families need to know this program will be funded for the long term.

Last year, your Committees worked diligently to include a four-year extension of the excise tax in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) alongside other impactful policies for miners including incentives for manufacturers to locate and create jobs within coal communities, and policies to ensure that workers have the right to form a union. However, without a 2021 tax extender bill or the passage of BBBA, the tax rate was cut by more than half at the end of 2021, putting the BLDTF further into debt and putting miners' benefits at risk. Based on 2021 revenue collection, we can estimate that the fund is losing, on average, approximately $2.8 million each week that the tax rate is not extended. That amounts to new tax benefits for coal companies and new expenses that fall on taxpayers.

Given the urgency to restore the excise tax to its prior rate and the uncertainty concerning the passage of the BBBA, as leaders of your committees, the Black Lung Association members and 67 supporting organizations signed on below urge you to act expediently in 2022 to support and pass the Black Lung Benefits Disability Trust Fund Act of 2021 (S. 2810). Miners and families impacted by black lung need the stability of a longer term extension of the excise tax so they can address other urgent issues - including a study on the adequacy of the benefits, the need for workplace protections to prevent the disease, and legislation that addresses the BLDTF's solvency crisis over the long-term.

View co-signers at https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5/0/50623766-773d-4aa4-9bc4-22531872a7cd/A711EEBC336B62DE192D25048F5CDBBA.black-lung-excise-tax-organizational-sign-on-letter-1.13.2022a.pdf