{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases/mcgarvey-and-warner-introduce-bill-to-support-families-of-mine-workers-who-died-of-black-lung-disease", "McGarvey and Warner Introduce Bill to Support Families of Mine Workers Who Died of Black Lung Disease", "2025-12-16", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "KY", "Morgan McGarvey", "M001220", "mcgarvey.house.gov", "mcgarvey", "https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 16, 2025) \u2013 Today, Congressman Morgan McGarvey (KY-03) introduced the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act, a bill to support families of miners who have died of pneumoconiosis, also known as \u201cblack lung disease.\u201d A Senate companion bill will also be introduced by Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today.\n\nUnder current law, miners\u2019 surviving dependents can claim monthly payments and medical benefits through the Black Lung Benefits Act of 1972, but must prove black lung substantially contributed to the miner\u2019s death, even if the miner was diagnosed with black lung and died of respiratory illness, imposing a heavy legal and financial burden on survivors\u2019 families who lack the resources of mine operators and their lawyers.\n\n\u201cWhen families are navigating the grief of losing a loved one and the financial worries that come with it, they shouldn\u2019t be subjected to a lengthy and expensive legal process just to prove what we already know: miners work in dangerous conditions to power this country and pay for it with their own health and lives,\u201d said Rep. Morgan McGarvey. \u201cThe burden should be on the coal companies, not grieving widows, to either prove there\u2019s no connection to black lung or pay these families what they\u2019re owed as a small step towards addressing the irreparable harm miners endured on the job. I\u2019m grateful to Senator Warner for staying in this fight and doing everything we can to make it easier for these families to get the benefits they\u2019ve more than earned.\u201d\n\n\u201cGrieving families in Virginia\u2019s mining communities shouldn\u2019t have to worry about fighting red tape or taking on hefty financial burdens,\u201d said Senator Warner. \u201cI\u2019m proud to stand alongside Rep. McGarvey and reintroduce the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act, which will ensure that families struggling with the loss of a loved one receive the benefits they deserve.\u201d\n\nResearch has shown that repeated exposure to coal dust and other materials puts miners at risk of developing black lung disease. Inhaling dust scars the lungs, impairs breathing, and other respiratory complications that can have life-altering consequences and lead to disability and death.\n\nThe Relief for Survivors of Miners Act would fix these barriers to benefits to ensure families of miners are properly compensated. Specifically, the legislation:\n\nRe-establishes a pre-1981 \u201crebuttable presumption\u201d that a miner who died from respiratory-related conditions had died due to black lung if the miner was previously disabled due to black lung.\n\nImproves legal representation by paying attorney\u2019s fees and medical expenses incurred during the claim process.\n\nRequests a Government Accountability Office report on the financial impact of these payments and other ways to improve the claims process and benefits for survivors.\n\nThe bill text can be found HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcgarvey.house.gov/media/press-releases/mcgarvey-and-warner-introduce-bill-to-support-families-of-mine-workers-who-died-of-black-lung-disease"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6988020613789558, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}