The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is in danger of insolvency and funding will end this year if the Build Back Better Act is not passed. Who'll suffer? Coal miners with black lung disease in West Virginia.
Tucked away in the version of the Build Back Better Act passed by the House — Section 138502, to be precise — there is a small paragraph extending an excise tax that funds a trust providing benefits to certain coal miners with black lung disease. The current rate for the tax, the primary revenue source for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, is set to expire at the end of the year; the Build Back Better Act includes an extension through the end of 2025.
Huh. Turns out Joe has no interest in the health of one in five veteran miners in central Appalachia who are disabled by black lung disease, or their surviving dependents.
Again, what's his deal? Would a 74-year old guy who's worth between $4-12 million sell out his constituents for a gig as Executive Director of the Coal Foundation or American Enterprise Institute after 2025? Why?
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