Joe Manchin

The America I know is one that keeps its promises to its citizens, particularly those who are older and vulnerable.

It's vital that Democrats and Republicans come together quickly to find solutions to this crisis.

But now, through no fault of their own, thousands of retirees face the loss of these benefits because of coal company bankruptcies.

This committee should do nothing until it fixes this. It should be the first priority in this committee to fix the mine workers' pension.

We worked hard. We built these economies. We contributed so much to the economy.

This bill is particularly important to my home State of West Virginia... the undue pressure by this administration has wreaked havoc on West Virginia families.

The Miners Protection Act is a fix. It is a fix that works not only the miners, but for America.

There is not a more proud, patriotic group of people than the men and women who mine the coal.

There has to be a bipartisan solution to this problem, and I know that you can all work together and come together and do it.

I would surely love to, but I have another meeting. As we know, they double-park us every time, and I have to go.

It's my view that Congress ought to protect the promise that you don't take away pension benefits that American workers have earned.

These are real people we are talking about. They live on small pensions, averaging $530 per month, plus Social Security.

Please do not let politics get in your way, we need a comprehensive bill that both parties can support that truly fixes the problem for current and future retirees.

It is so important to know the chronology of this law signed by Harry Truman.

I am so pleased that Senator Hatch is supporting the effort and that Senator Wyden has spoken out repeatedly, as has Senator Casey and Senator Warner and others.

The bottom line is not always the dollar. There is a human aspect and element to this as well.

The one thing that has happened is, the State of West Virginia--just to report here this morning--has lost more citizens than any other State in the Union.

I would rather have Mrs. Lewis talking about $2,000 a month than $1,000 a month.

I want to thank you, Senator Portman, for sponsoring the Pension Accountability Act which will fix the broken voting process in MPRA.

People in my little State, one of the most patriotic States in the Nation, is concerned about why do we have to carry the heavy load.

The concerns that people have--and I think if you watch television at all and the anger that you are seeing in the American voters and people that are participating in the political process--very concerned about the United States of…

So they are looking for every avenue they can in order to get here or get wherever they can to wreak havoc.

Could they be coming to this country under the guise of looking for some asylum, if we can do a better job on that end before they get to this end?

As you know, politics sometimes gets us entwined a little bit more than what we should be.

This whole refugee thing is a great concern to the State of West Virginia and my constituents in my State.