By Gage Goulding

December 22, 2019 - A bill that has moved through the House and Senate this past week has received the seal of approval from President Donald Trump.

The legislation is aimed to protect the pensions of nearly 100,000 retired miners across the country.

On Friday night, President Trump signed the bill, assuring members of the United Mine Workers of America that their pensions would be backed by the federal government.

"This is truly an historic day for the UMWA with the signature of the president. Our UMWA family can rest [knowing] that finally, the promise that was made to us has come to fruition. Lives have been saved," said Vice President of UMWA District 31 Rick Altman.

Backing the bill from its early inception is Senator Joe Manchin, who spoke at an event with retired miners in Fairmont, West Virginia on Friday.

"It guarantees lifetime health care benefits for the 13,000 miners who would have lost their benefits entirely and the 92,000 miners who would have seen their pensions gutted next year without Congressional action," said Sen. Manchin. "This would not have happened without the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the thousands of coal miners who invested their time and energy, year after year, coming to Washington, walking the halls, and fighting for their brothers and sisters. It has been the honor of my life to lead this fight and bring together the coalition that made this possible."