Political Quotes

“I am really pleased to be here with my fellow West Virginia Senator, Mr. Manchin. We have joined each other on this topic before, but he has been a real champion for our miners, and I am really grateful to him and others who have participated, but I think we have got to talk about this every day and make sure that we underscore the urgent need to pass the Bipartisan American Miners Act. I appreciate Senator Manchin and certainly appreciate Leader McConnell who has been a champion for our miners as well--Senator Portland as well--who have made this retirement security a top priority. Back in 2017, time was running out on the healthcare benefits for 12,000 retired miners. I remember it well, particularly following the Patriot Coal bankruptcy. We came together as a bipartisan group to pass legislation with the House that protected healthcare for those men and women. While we are in a similar situation today, which we knew we were going to be here, the Senate needs to act soon to save the healthcare of 13,000 retired miners and protect the pension benefits of 92,000 people. Time is of the essence here because roughly 1,000 retirees from Westmoreland and Mission Coal will lose their healthcare at the end of the year if we do not act; 12,000 more could lose their healthcare by next spring, and the pension benefits are at risk in 2020. This is a critical, critical issue for my State and many others.…”