Bob Wise: “Today the House has a chance to correct the long delays and the procedural barriers that have plagued black-lung…”

“Today the House has a chance to correct the long delays and the procedural barriers that have plagued black-lung recipients for many years. This is the situation: Imagine it, work a mile underground for 30 or 40 years mining coal and eating coal dust, cough black dust every time you cough, then apply for the benefits that help you pay for your oxygen and medical expenses; oh, oops, you have to wait 4 to 7 years. Then you have to run through numerous medical exams, a lot of procedural hoops. A lawyer will not take your case, because they know they will not be paid, and chances are you will be dead before the benefits are ever received. Mr. Speaker, this bill before the House today begins correcting these inequities. Opponents cannot require more than one medical exam of a claimant. Reasonable attorney's fees for a claimant must be paid. Death is presumed to be from pneumoconiosis if the claimant was receiving black-lung benefits or was disabled by black lung at the time of death. Mining coal and eating coal dust to mine this Nation's energy is tough enough, Mr. Speaker. Today disabled coal miners and their families finally have a chance to get a little justice.”