[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            MINERS' PENSIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Jenkins) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, thousands of retirees and 
widows in my district and coal States across the country are worried 
about making ends meet. They are wondering if the promises made to them 
will be kept. They want to know if Congress will act to preserve the 
pensions and healthcare benefits they worked hard to earn.
  Mr. Speaker, our coal miners and their widows deserve the pensions 
and benefits they were promised. However, the funds for these vital 
programs are running out--and time is running out to fix these critical 
issues.
  We have a solution. In the House, it is called the Coal Healthcare 
and Pensions Protection Act, legislation I proudly cosponsored, along 
with Alex Mooney of the Second Congressional District of West Virginia. 
This legislation was introduced by our fellow West Virginian, 
Congressman David McKinley. A companion bill has also been introduced 
in the Senate.
  I want to share the words of a West Virginian who watched her father 
spend 30 years in the mines. Sherri Armstrong of Boone County wrote me, 
urging Congress to protect the benefits that her father had earned. She 
said her dad worked every shift available and counted every penny he 
earned. He took pride in his job, but his future is now in jeopardy. 
Here is what she wrote:

       For decades, their work provided for their communities, 
     State, and Nation. If something is not done, and their 
     benefits not protected, many of these people will be forced 
     to either return to the workforce or to lose all they worked 
     for and depend on public assistance to sustain them their 
     remaining days.

  Our coal miners made this country what it is today. They mined the 
coal that made the steel that built the skyscrapers and won world wars. 
These miners and their families deserve no less than what they worked 
their entire lives to earn: the peace of mind that comes with a 
pension.
  I urge Congress to act. Pass this important legislation and protect 
our miners and their families.

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