FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, three U.S. representatives introduced the Support Our Miners Act, a bill that will increase the black lung disability payment that miners and their families receive. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., sponsored the bill with co-sponsors Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky.
The Support Our Miners Act will adjust the black lung disability payment to account for five decades of inadequate increases. This bill would benefit more than 25,000 members of mining families across nearly all states.
The monthly disability benefit that miners with black lung receive hasn’t kept pace with inflation since the Black Lung Program was first established in 1970, according to a report from Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and Appalachian Voices. Currently, a single miner is eligible for just $794 monthly, about two-thirds what that miner would have received in 1970, adjusted for inflation. Because the disability stipend is tied to federal employee pay rates, the benefit has fallen behind the cost of living. The bill would ensure that benefits are automatically adjusted for inflation each year going forward.
Increasing miner black lung disability benefits has broad support. More than 80 local governments from across Appalachian coal communities passed local resolutions in support of this policy change. Further, a May 2026 report from the Government Accountability Office found that black lung beneficiaries reported the need for a benefit increase. The report projects that many miners reliant on black lung benefits are living on incomes that are below federal poverty levels or incomes well below the salaries they formerly earned.
Statement from Quenton King, Government Affairs Specialist:
“Right now, families in our coal communities are trying to get by on monthly disability benefits that simply haven’t kept pace with inflation. The Support Our Miners Act’s simple, commonsense tweak to the way benefits are calculated will have a tremendous impact on the lives of thousands of coal miners and family members in Appalachia and across the country. It’s long overdue. We appreciate Reps. Lee, McGarvey and Deluzio for stepping up to make black lung disability benefits more meaningfully address the cost of living for coal mining families today.”
Statement from Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy at Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
“For far too long, we have allowed coal miners to become sick and die from overexposure to coal and silica dust. This regulatory failure is unacceptable. But further, we have not taken action to modernize a long outdated black lung disability benefits system. We’ve allowed miners to be overexposed to dust, become sick and then offer them a benefits system that will not adequately support them and their families. We are so grateful for the leadership from Reps. Lee, McGarvey and Deluzio in introducing the Support Our Miners Act, which will increase monthly black lung disability benefits for miners, bringing the value of black lung benefits back up to the standard intended by Congress when it passed the Black Lung Benefits Act in 1972.”
Statement from Gary Hairston, President, National Black Lung Association
“I spent nearly three decades underground mining coal to keep this country’s lights on, only to be diagnosed with black lung before I turned 50. It stole my ability to work and provide for my family. Over time, the monthly disability benefit has paid for less and less of my expenses. I’m glad that members of Congress are fighting to raise the monthly levels, and I hope that the Trump administration shows it cares about miners by implementing silica protections.”
Statement from Vonda Robinson, Vice President, National Black Lung Association
“The black lung disability benefit has become a lifeline since my husband was no longer able to work in the mines because of black lung, but with inflation it’s less than it used to be. Things like car and home repairs are stretching the benefit thinner. My husband used to be able to do much of the work around the house himself, but with black lung disease and his oxygen tank, he has trouble doing the things he used to do. Raising the monthly benefit is necessary to help families like mine and others in coal communities survive. But the federal government also needs to stop black lung from happening in the first place.”
