MAKING CONNECTIONS NEWS: MLK, Black Lung, Invest in Appalachia

On this most recent episode of Making Connections News, ACLC staff is featured discussing the black lung excise tax at a recent press conference:

“Next up, we hear from a January 14 press conference organized by the National Black Lung Association, Appalachian Voices and the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. The group presented a letter signed by over 65 organizations calling on Congress to take action to restore the excise fee supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. The excise fee was cut by more than half when the Build Back Better bill was not passed at the end of 2021. Rebecca Shelton from ACLC and Chelsea Barnes from Appalachian Voices explain the urgent need for action. Vonda Robinson, a coal miner’s wife and Black Lung Association leader, and Arven Hanshaw, a disabled miner from West Virginia, describe the debilitating effects of living with Black Lung Disease. They call for an immediate extension of the excise fee supporting health care for miners.”

Listen here.