Tell Congress to ensure that coal companies pay their fair share to provide black lung benefits to miners and their families.
SIGN ON: I urge my legislators to support legislation that would raise the Black Lung Disability Excise Tax by 25%, or at the very least maintain it at its current rate.
To be delivered to Congressional Leaders and your Congressional Representatives.
Your information may be shared with organizations working on black lung, Just Transition, or related efforts in your area.
Scott Howard during an underground mine shift, circa 1991. Scott is now retired and struggling with black lung disease in Letcher County, KY.
An epidemic of the deadly and incurable black lung disease is sweeping the nation's coal miners, especially those in Appalachia. Black lung disease is caused by the inhalation of dust from mining coal. Since 2000, the rate of black lung among veteran coal miners has doubled across the nation. In Central Appalachia, a staggering 1 in 5 veteran working coal miners now afflicted.
In the midst of this epidemic, some coal industry lobbyists are callously calling for a 50% reduction to the per-ton tax on coal production that provides black lung benefits for nearly 19,000 miners and their dependents who do not have employer-provided black lung benefits. This reduction is set to occur at the end of 2018 unless Congress takes action.