[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SAVE HEALTH CARE BENEFITS FOR COAL MINERS

  (Mr. POSHARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POSHARD. Mr. Speaker, we have over 100,000 retired coal miners in 
America today, men and women who for 25, 30, even for 40 years exposed 
themselves to great danger to provide for the energy needs of America.
  In 1946 this Congress, working with the coal companies, developed a 
health care plan to make sure these miners would be provided adequate 
health care in their later years. But over the years many companies 
refused to honor their obligations to contribute to the employer funded 
UMWA health and retirement funds, creating a crisis which threatened 
the health and security of well over 100,000 retirees.
  This Congress responded, and in 1992 we enacted the Coal Industry 
Retiree Health Benefits Act to make sure companies paid their fair 
share, to make sure that health care for current and retired coal 
miners would be preserved for now and in the future.
  Last week, Mr. Speaker, that act was overturned in the Ways and Means 
Committee, leaving these miners to face an uncertain future with regard 
to their health care. This is wrong, Mr. Speaker, and I plead with this 
Congress not to enact this act.

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