Political Quotes

“in 1969 Congress passed the Black Lung Benefits Act upon realizing that specialized pulmonary medical services were needed in the Nation's coal fields. They also realized that Federal support would be needed to develop these services. The main goal of the Black Lung Clinics Program has always been to keep respiratory patients out of the hospital by utilizing preventive medicine in the fields. Mr. Chairman, these patients are extremely expensive to treat. The Black Lung Clinics Program also guarantees that respiratory disease patients will have the medical care they need even if they cannot afford it. However, this year the Black Lung Clinics Program is funded at the level of $1.9 million which is the same level requested by the President in his fiscal year 1997 budget proposal. Unfortunately this would represent about a 50-percent reduction from the fiscal year 1996 funding level of $3.8 million. It should also be noted that in fiscal year 1996 the Black Lung Clinics Program received a funding reduction of about 8 percent. My amendment merely restores funding for Black Lung Clinics to the original level.”