Political Quotes

“earlier today, the Senate voted to pass the Omnibus appropriations bill for 2017. This bill is a product of bipartisan negotiations and hard work on the part of our Appropriations Committee, of which I am proud to be a member, and the leadership of both of our parties. I am encouraged by the overwhelming support for this important legislation that reflects our Nation's priorities and funds the government in a responsible way. I am very pleased--and I can't emphasize this enough; very pleased--that the bill includes a bipartisan provision that keeps the promise of lifetime healthcare benefits for 22,000 coal miners and their families, including 8,500 West Virginians--my home State. Bankruptcies in the coal industry meant that these miners would have lost their critical health insurance coverage at the end of last year. We passed that little, short-term extension for 4 months, and it was set to expire this coming week. This appropriations bill provides certainty to these coal mining families. Because of this bill, they will keep the healthcare they earned through their years of hard work. I worked closely with my West Virginia colleague, Senator Joe Manchin, as well as our Representatives--Representatives David McKinley, Evan Jenkins, and Alex Mooney--to get this permanent miners' healthcare fix included in the bill.…”