AL SR54

Urges United States Congress to pass the Miners Protection Act to protect retired coal miners' health care and pension benefits.

Describes the 1946 Krug-Lewis agreement that established welfare, retirement, and medical funds for coal miners and their families, and notes the federal government's repeated confirmation of its role in guaranteeing these benefits.

Notes that multiple coal companies have filed for bankruptcy and shed retiree obligations, leaving more than 26,000 retirees at risk of losing health care benefits, and that the UMWA 1974 Pension Fund is projected to become insolvent by 2022.

References S. 175 and H.R. 179, bipartisan Miners Protection Act legislation introduced by Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito and Representative David McKinley that would amend the Coal Act to allow recently bankrupt company retirees to obtain health care coverage from UMWA funds and repurpose existing appropriations to shore up the Pension Plan.

Recognizes that over 105,000 coal miners have been killed on the job and over 100,000 have died from Black Lung disease, and directs that a copy be sent to Alabama's Congressional Delegation.