Political Quotes

“I want to first say thank you to my colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senators Capito, Portman, Jones, Kaine, Duckworth, Brown, Casey, Durbin, Warner, Sinema, Van Hollen, and Reed, who have cosponsored this legislation with me, for standing with me to protect coal miners' pensions and healthcare, and specifically Senator Capito, who will be joining me here on the floor today. Yesterday marked the 51st anniversary of the Farmington No. 9 disaster, where 78 coal miners lost their lives in the Consolidation Coal Company's No. 9 mine in Farmington, WV, which is my hometown. I lost my uncle John Gouzd in that mine explosion, I lost my neighbor John Sopuch, and I lost several of my classmates in that tragedy that rocked my hometown. It seems like only yesterday. I have always said that one life lost while on the job is one too many. It shouldn't happen. This tragedy shows the risk our coal miners take every day to provide our country with the energy we need, which is why I am here today. When coal companies go bankrupt, coal miners' benefits are at the bottom of the priority list, which is how we have ended up in this situation today, and that is unacceptable. It should be unacceptable to all of us. The person who earns the wage should be on the front end of the line when a bankruptcy happens, and whatever happens, they are taken care of first. Time is running out for our coal miners.…”