{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=71B56CE2-8F76-498E-BD37-1B785DEFD367", "Warner, Kaine, McGarvey Introduce Bill to Support Families of Mine Workers who Died of Black Lung Disease", "2025-12-18", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) introduced the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act, legislation that would remove barriers to benefits and ensure that families of miners who have died from black lung are properly compensated. A companion bill was introduced by Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03) in the U.S. House of Representatives.\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 Sen. 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\n\u201cMiners take on enormous burdens to power our communities, and it\u2019s unacceptable that many families of deceased miners are struggling to access their benefits,\u201d said Sen. Kaine. \u201cThese families deserve our care and support, which is why we\u2019re introducing this bill to cut red tape and make it easier for them to secure critical resources they need.\u201d\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. 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\nSpecifically, the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act would:\n\nRe-establish 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\nImprove legal representation by paying attorneys\u2019 fees and medical expenses incurred during the claims process.\n\nRequest 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\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\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\nThe bill text can be found here.\n\n###\n\n* High-quality photographs of Sen. Mark R. Warner are available for downloadhere*", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=71B56CE2-8F76-498E-BD37-1B785DEFD367"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9191380124539137, "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"}