Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an issue of great urgency--the fate of tens of thousands of American workers.

In just a matter of weeks, 16,000 coal miners and their dependents will lose their health care coverage and roughly 6,000 others will join that group in the year 2017, and here we are just days away from Congress wrapping up its work for the year. This should be a time to motivate us to action.

I have served in Congress a long time, and I know nothing motivates Congress more than a deadline, being up against a deadline, as we are today. This time should be no different, and here is why: Without some resolution before Congress adjourns, the men and women who have powered our Nation and spurred economic growth for generations will have the carpet ripped out from under them. They will lose the health care benefits they so rely on and have been promised.

It is important to recognize the risks our coal miners take to better our lives every day. When you visit a coal mine, which I have done--I have been underground in a coal mine--you see the rigorous and often very dangerous working conditions where these men and women do their job every day to provide the energy we need to light this Chamber, to warm our homes, and to keep our classrooms lit. These miners are the pillars of our communities, and many of them are veterans of our Nation. For decades they have worked hard and played by the rules. Yet the realities facing these men and women are stark. They are up against the wall, and we are up against the wall with them. The challenges they face will only grow if we fail to accommodate and have immediate action.

We can talk about the realities of the War on Coal, but this is about more than that. This is about people--tens of thousands of people, mostly older, many suffering health issues--who rely on health care, and many are in need. This is about tens of thousands of coal jobs that have been lost, devastating my region of the country, forcing miners to rely on these modest benefits more than ever before. This is about employers who are bankrupt who can no longer fund these benefit plans.

We have a solution right here in front of us that is ready for a vote to prevent any lapse in benefits. It is a solution that has support from both sides of the aisle. We passed the Miners Protection Act out of the Finance Committee in a bipartisan way, and it is a solution that could make a difference in the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Americans.

I had really hoped that we could offer the Miners Protection Act as an amendment to the 21st Century Cures bill. The 21st Century Cures bill is all about health. The Miners Protection Act is a lot about the health and well-being of our miners.

That is why, despite the many good things and benefits in the 21st Century Cures Act, such as funding for the opioid epidemic that hit my State of West Virginia and many of our States very hard, advanced medicine, and Cancer Moonshot, I had to oppose us moving forward on the Cures Act tonight without an amendment process. That is how important this issue is to our miners.

Before Friday we will move forward on a bill to fund our government.

We must take action in that bill--which I consider mostly our last chance, the continuing resolution--to protect these important benefits for our miners. If we don't, we will be failing to act for the benefit of thousands of American workers.

I yield the floor.

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