[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 143 (Thursday, November 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE BLACK LUNG BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 20, 2014

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing the Black Lung Benefits 
Improvement Act of 2014 today to help disabled coal miners get benefits 
that they are entitled to but often unable to access.
  Coal workers' pneumoconiosis, commonly referred to as ``black lung,'' 
is a debilitating and deadly disease caused by the long-term inhalation 
of coal dust in underground and surface coal mines. According to the 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, black lung has 
caused or contributed to more than 76,000 deaths since 1968, with 
thousands of miners still sick and dying from the disease.
  The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, which included 
the Black Lung Benefits Act, contained a program designed to provide 
compensation and medical care to miners who are totally disabled due to 
black lung. To secure benefits, disabled coal miners must engage in 
lengthy and complex litigation against local operators that has been 
proven to unfairly burden claimants and prevent them from receiving the 
benefits to which they are entitled.
  In 2009, the Government Accountability Office found that ``coal 
miners face a number of challenges pursuing federal black lung claims, 
including finding legal representation and developing sound medical 
evidence to support their claims.'' More recent award-winning 
investigations by the Center for Public Integrity and ABC News 
uncovered numerous cases in which coal operators and their attorneys 
defeated claims by hiring doctors who systematically failed to diagnose 
black lung disease, or by withholding medical evidence from miners, 
surviving spouses, and judges that would have proven the miners' 
eligibility for benefits. These and other unethical practices were 
examined as part of a July 22, 2014, hearing before the Senate 
Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. In addition, 
bureaucratic delays impede timely decisions about miners' benefits, 
with miners waiting an average of 42 months to receive a decision on 
their claim from an administrative law judge in the Department of 
Labor.
  In the past year, the Department of Labor has taken several steps to 
address these issues; however, administrative actions alone will not be 
able to solve the systematic problems facing victims of black lung 
disease. That is why Congress has an obligation to reform this program 
so that it better serves and honors those who have helped supply the 
energy that our country relies on to light our homes and power our 
factories.
  I want to thank Congressman George Miller, the senior Democrat on the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce, for his leadership on this 
issue, and for Representatives Joe Courtney, Nick Rahall and Robert C. 
``Bobby'' Scott for joining me in sponsoring this important 
legislation.

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