Manchin Plans To Halt Senate Action Over Coal Miners' Benefits

[TexasTowelie]

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin pledged Wednesday, Dec. 11, to block all legislation until pensions and health benefits are secured for coal miners.

Manchin said no legislation will pass the Senate until he is assured that coal miners’ benefits will be in the spending bill used to fund the federal government.

The Bipartisan American Miners Act would permanently secure pensions for about 82,000 coal miners who could lose their retirement benefits by sometime next year without congressional action.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Manchin said miners can’t wait another year for congressional action.

Read more: https://www.wvpublic.org/post/manchin-plans-halt-senate-action-over-coal-miners-benefits

[rampartc]

1. the coal miners earned those benefits

but they really should be paid by the mine corporations rather than the taxpayers.

this is the greatest fraud at the heart of the national debt : shifting assets to the rich and their corporations, while shifting liabilities to the taxpayers.

[beachbumbob]

2. When was the last time any corporation paid Superfund tax?

1995.


Except when lawsuits get judgements, the taxpayers pay for all the cleanup

[rampartc]

3. i was going to guess the gingrich congress

but this stuff is bipartisan and our side, at least, has got to start fighting.

we (new orleans) just cleaned up radioactive waste that had been in a neighborhood for so long no one knew how it got there. not only the clean up, but the lawsuits are on the taxpayers. the profits are long gone.

https://www.fox8live.com/2019/06/28/bins-radioactive-waste-removed-gert-town/

[beachbumbob]

5. Neither Obama or Clinton did much of anything to get this tax renewed

we should not be fooled that money = power and doesn't matter who the politicians are. They are all actors in the big con game.

[rampartc]

6. i'll risk a hide on this one

the environment is my biggest issue. as important as climate change is, we still need to protect the environment from other hazards.

it was wrong for Obama to give a pass to BP on their big spill. offshore drilling should have stopped until the companies demonstrated that they knew how to prevent these disasters or to at least clean them up when they happen.

[gab13by13]

4. Why not a Bill

that guarantees pensions for all occupations? Why are coal workers privileged over airline pilots?

[beachbumbob]

7. airline pilots got SOME of their pension, my company went under also so my pension was reduced

by more than 50% under the PBGC rules. Its is what it is. Coal miners should not got special treatment. Look at what happen with city of Detroit retirees, look at what happened to teamsters in "multi-state" pension fiasco.