How Congress Can Help Now in Coal Country
January 23, 2017 - President Trump campaigned as an agent of change in coal country. He told audiences in Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere that he would bring jobs back. It was hard to see how exactly in the fall, and it is no less so today. The coal industry has been hit by a confluence of factors that have weakened its presence.
That weakening has triggered an immediate crisis for 22,500 retired coal miners. They face the loss of their health care and pension benefits. Which means Congress should act, approving the Miners Protection Act, reintroduced last week by Sherrod Brown, with the support of his fellow Ohio senator, Rob Portman.
Here is an opportunity for the president to prove true to his campaign commitment, if not on the job front then in ensuring the security that retired coal miners deserve.
What should be stressed about the plight of coal is that regulations put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency under Barack Obama are not the most telling factor. It is worth adding that the overall benefits of those rules exceed the cost. More than anything, coal and its jobs have suffered because of the low price of natural gas and automation in the industry.
Put another way, the marketplace has been rough on coal. Short of a change in the supply of natural gas, or a dramatic breakthrough in carbon capture technology, the industry will continue to face steep challenges.
In December, Brown, Portman and others got close to passing the necessary legislation. A strong bipartisan majority gave approval in committee. Those who count votes tallied the required 60 senators to end debate. Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell proved the obstacle, perhaps still peeved about the United Mine Workers supporting his election opponent. He agreed to support just the health benefits of retired miners into April.
The pension and health benefits were in solid shape, reflecting a deal dating to the 1940s, when the federal government, to end a prolonged strike, arranged for coal companies to support the benefits for miners. That framework survived until 2008, when the financial crisis took its toll and the coal industry suffered more severely.
Now more money is flowing out than into the funds, the system on the verge of collapse.
Critics of the proposed legislation argue that the federal government has no business coming to the rescue of the retired miners. Ordinarily, that might ring true. In this instance, the federal government made a commitment. If that was long ago, the arrangement endured until circumstances upended financial support for the benefits.
These are miners who have engaged in grueling, dirty and dangerous work. They do not have ready prospects elsewhere. The federal government long has stepped up to cushion the sharp edges of the market.
More, the money is available. The bill proposes to tap the surplus in the Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Fund. Taxpayers would not be hit. No wonder, then, that Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman have been joined by so many colleagues. They see a tangible way to support beleaguered coal country. This shouldn’t be hard for Congress and the White House to do.