Congressman McKinley Joins UMWA Retirees to Urge Congress to Act on Miners Pension

Statement

Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E., (R-W.Va.) spoke with coal miners and supporters in Washington to call for legislative action to protect pensions for more than 100,000 United Mine Workers Association (WMWA) retirees and family members.
"Look, we need to stop playing politics, miners and their families deserve peace of mind. In divided government you need bipartisan solutions, we have a bipartisan solution, the Miners Pension Protection Act," Rep. McKinley said. Promises made need to be promises kept."

To view the full video of the press conference, click here

The Miners Pension Protection Act provides a solution to maintain funding for the pension plan and protect benefits for the more than 100,000 retired coal miners and their families currently covered by the UMWA Pension Plan. The text of the bill, H.R. 935, is available here.

The Miners Pension Protection Act has 54 bipartisan cosponsors.

Background

Since 2013, Rep. McKinley has introduced bipartisan legislation to protect pension and healthcare benefits for retired miners every Congress.

In May 2017, Rep. McKinley helped secure permanent funding to save the health care benefits for retired miners. As a result, 22,000 retired coal miners and their families were able to maintain their health benefits.
In October 2017, Rep. McKinley introduced the American Miners Pension Act, legislation that would stabilize the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan.
In February 2018, Congress formed the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multi-Employer Pension Plans, a committee designated to find a funding solution for the looming multi-employer pension crisis. The Select Committee failed to produce a proposal.

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