Upcoming Events with Senator Joe

Friday, January 27

Senator Manchin keynotes the Mined Minds Graduation at the Culture Center in Charleston.

Wednesday, February 1

From Washington, Senator Manchin skypes with students from Philip Barbour High School.

Wednesday, February 8

Senator Manchin's staff participates in our first job fair of 2017 at the Charleston Goodwill.

Wednesday, February 8

From Washington, Senator Manchin skypes with students from John D. Rockefeller Career Center in New Cumberland.

Tuesday, February 14

Senator Manchin, along with students from across the state, skypes with the International Space Station at the Clay Center in Charleston.

From the Hill to the Mountains

KEEPING FAITH WITH MINERS

Our state has mined the coal that forged the steel that built the tanks and trains that have made and kept our country the strongest on earth. Our nation has thrived because of the hard work of our coal miners, and that is why the first bill that I introduced this year was the Miners Protection Act, which protects the health care of retired miners. With another deadline fast approaching, we can no longer afford a delay.

For the past two years, I have been working on securing future health care for our retired miners and their families and I will not stop until this promise is kept. Since the continuing resolution passed in December with only a four-month "fix" for miners' health care, I have been working to find solutions from all angles.

For the next four months, the Miners Protection Act will still be my Number One priority. So much so that in my conversations with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence I have brought up the importance of a long-term solution to retired miners' and their widows' health care. They assured me that they will help fight to secure a permanent health care solution for our retired miners, as guaranteed in the proposed Miners Protection Act. They are committed to working with me to get this done, which is a refreshing change in Washington.

I have also discussed mapping out a clear path forward with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and he promised me he is ready to work toward a long-term solution and is committed to doing so before the April deadline.

Since introducing this bipartisan bill in July 2015, I have gone through regular order. The bill was passed out of the Senate Finance Committee with an 18 to 8 vote and has broad bipartisan support.

For these reasons, it was unacceptable that the Senate could not pass the full Miners Protection Act last year. After all, for two years now, we have known that this deadline was approaching.

In the end, Congress failed to rise to the occasion, and they instead took the miners' existing money to buy four additional months for one group and shorten the deadline by three months for another group. It was the wrong thing to do, and we have to set it right.

Though the next four months present us with a tough fight, I remain faithful in America's political process and optimistic in its ability to enact meaningful change in people's lives.

I look forward to working with the new Administration and my colleagues to provide certainty and peace of mind to our retired miners and their families. Our coal miners are some of the hardest working people in America, and they have dedicated their lives to powering this nation and keeping it the strongest in the world. We have a responsibility to protect their hard-earned pensions and health benefits.

(This article was featured in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on January 18, 2017)