Tim Kaine: “I rise to speak about a very important provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that combines the three pillars of the…”

“I rise to speak about a very important provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that combines the three pillars of the act: healthcare, energy, and tax reform. That provision is a permanent funding fix for the Black Lung Benefits Program. And I dedicate this floor speech to all my friends who are Virginia coal miners, to their retirees, to their families. And I especially dedicate it to my friends at the United Mine Workers, including a dear friend, President Cecil Roberts. I came to Virginia in 1984, never having been in Virginia. I grew up in Kansas, and I didn't really know too much about the coal industry. But I married my wife Anne 38 years ago, and part of her family is from Big Stone Gap, VA, in the heart of Appalachia--those counties in Southwestern Virginia--Wise, Lee, Dickenson, Russell, Buchanan, Scott-- that have coal mining as the very heart of their economies. And it is not only coal mines, but it is the miners themselves--many of whom drive across State lines to work in West Virginia or Kentucky--and their families. And they have done it for generations. And long before I got into politics, once I married my wife from Appalachia, I got to know these miners. It is a tough job. It is a scary job. It is a dangerous job. But these miners do it every day because the Nation needs power, because our steel mills need steel to build aircraft carriers and submarines and skyscrapers. And they do this, and many of them have done it for generations.…”