Miners bill splits Republicans

’46 vow to protect benefits runs into coolness toward unions

In this June 23, 2016 file photo, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
In this June 23, 2016 file photo, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON -- An election-year bill to fulfill a 70-year-old government promise and protect health care and pension benefits for retired miners is dividing coal-state Republicans, pitting endangered incumbents against GOP leaders wary of bailing out union workers.

Retirement and health care funds support about 120,000 former miners and their families nationwide. But account balances have dwindled amid continued layoffs and bankruptcy filings as the coal industry struggles against competition from cheaper natural gas and tightening environmental regulations.

The bill would ensure that retired miners receive hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits now at risk amid the industry's steep decline. Without congressional intervention, some of the funds could run out of cash by next year, according to the United Mine Workers of America.

"These folks spent their whole lives going underground and mining the coal that made this country what it is today. They energized this nation for decades and through today," said Phil Smith, a spokesman for the miners union

.In 1946, President Harry Truman brokered an agreement to guarantee miners' lifetime health and retirement benefits.

Thousands of retired miners and their supporters are expected to gather at the Capitol on Thursday to push for the bill, which they describe as a lifesaving measure that honors the pact made by the federal government. The bill would affect more than 30,000 retired miners in West Virginia and tens of thousands more in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia and Alabama.

Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois -- both in tough elections in two months -- back the legislation, but they face resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell, a staunch defender of his home state's coal industry, blocked the pension measure last year and said he's not going to fast-track a plan that some Republicans warn amounts to a bailout.

"There are hundreds of private-sector pension plans in critical, endangered or declining status throughout America today," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said earlier this year. "So I'm not sure how Congress would help the United Mine Workers and not the others. Where do we draw the line?"

Wyoming is the nation's top coal producer -- mainly from nonunion plants -- and Enzi said the bill would "do absolutely nothing for miners who are not members" of the union. Nearly 11,000 coal workers have lost jobs in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the pension bill "wouldn't help put those folks back to work," Enzi said.

Portman calls the bill a matter of fairness.

"These are people who not just power our country but power their communities," said Portman, who has been endorsed by the mine workers union as he faces a challenge from former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

In Pennsylvania, Sen. Pat Toomey, another endangered Republican, declined to comment although his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty, supports the bill.

"Our nation owes every single coal miner a debt of gratitude for staring down risks and helping meet our energy needs," McGinty said. She called on Congress to ensure "America's coal miners get the dignified, secure retirement they deserve."

A spokesman for McConnell said the senator "has been and remains committed to helping ensure the retirement security of our nation's retirees, including coal miners."

McConnell "continues to believe this issue deserves an open, transparent debate through regular order," spokesman Robert Steurer said, noting that the Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on the bill later this month.

At least nine Senate Republicans, including Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah, support the bill, along with nearly all Senate Democrats.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said McConnell has blocked the bill "because he doesn't like the United Mine Workers union," which endorsed McConnell's Democratic opponent, Alison Grimes, in the 2014 election.

Information for this article was contributed by Ann Sanner of The Associated Press.

A Section on 09/06/2016

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