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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the County’s representatives in the United States Senate and House of Representatives to support and vote for legislation to assist disabled miners, including legislation to increase monthly black lung benefit rates.
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WHEREAS Allegheny County is a community in Pennsylvania, a region with many rich assets, including our land, water, heritage, and people who have mined coal that has fueled the United States for over a century; and
WHEREAS one of the consequences of this history of regional coal mining in southwestern Pennsylvania has been that generations of our families and communities have suffered from high rates of black lung disease, an incurable and fatal disease caused by exposure to coal and silica dust; and
WHEREAS thousands of coal miners disabled by black lung disease and their dependents rely on federal black lung benefits including, in FY2024, 1,917 Pennsylvanians, of which 43 claimants reside in Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS the federal benefits provided to residents of Allegheny County delivered an estimated $974,270.81 in disability and medical benefits in 2024, providing an important financial lifeline to affected families and supporting the local economy through spending at local businesses and medical facilities; and
WHEREAS the spending value of federal black lung benefit payments have declined by over thirty percent since 1969, because black lung benefits are not tied to increases in the cost of living or rising inflation; and
WHEREAS a living wage in Allegheny County is over five times the amount of what is provided by federal black lung benefit rates; and
WHEREAS we are concerned about the general welfare of our mining families, specifically the impacts of rising inflation, and believe that our miners deserve to live their lives with dignity;
The Council of the County of Allegheny therefore hereby moves as follows:
Allegheny County Council hereby urges U.S. Senators Dave M...
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