Relief for Survivors of Miners Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3]
Introduced
Summary
Easier access to Black Lung survivor benefits through new rebuttable presumptions. The bill would add two rebuttable presumptions linking long coal employment or total disability from pneumoconiosis to a miner's death, restore pre-1981 disability definitions, and create a limited program to pay attorneys' fees and unreimbursed medical costs for delayed contested claims.
Show full summary
- Survivors and families: Survivors would face easier rules to show a miner's death was due to pneumoconiosis if the miner worked at least 10 years in a coal mine or was totally disabled by the disease.
- Claimants and eligibility: The bill restores certain pre-1981 rules about total disability from pneumoconiosis and updates statutory language by replacing "respirable" with "respiratory," which affects how some claims are framed.
- Attorneys, operators, and the fund: It creates an Attorneys' Fees and Medical Expenses Payment Program that would pay up to $4,500 for attorneys' fees and up to $3,000 for medical expenses per qualifying contested claim, and requires liable mine operators to reimburse the fund if compensation is later awarded.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Help paying lawyers and medical bills
If enacted, the bill would require the Labor Secretary to set up a program within 180 days to pay lawyers' fees and unreimbursed medical costs from the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. It would cover contested claims with no final order within one year. The program could pay up to $4,500 in attorneys' fees and up to $3,000 in medical expenses per qualifying claim, with district directors able to approve up to $1,500 and judges up to $3,000 for fees, and each able to approve up to $1,500 for medical costs. If a later final order awards compensation, the liable operator would have to reimburse the fund. The program could not recoup payments from the claimant or the claimant's attorney.
More benefits for miners' survivors
If enacted, this bill would make it easier for many miners' survivors to get Black Lung benefits. It would create a strong presumption that death was caused by pneumoconiosis when a miner worked at least 10 years in a coal mine. It would also create a presumption when a miner had been totally disabled by pneumoconiosis in life. Both presumptions could be rebutted only by showing that no part of the death was caused by pneumoconiosis. The changes would apply to claims filed under Part C on or after the date five years before enactment and to claims pending when the bill is enacted, and the bill would restore pre-1981 coverage for miners who were totally disabled at death.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3]
KY • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13]
IL • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17]
PA • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3]
OR • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4]
VA • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 12/16/2025
Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12]
NC • D
Sponsored 12/17/2025
Rep. Carson, Andre [D-IN-7]
IN • D
Sponsored 12/18/2025
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 1/7/2026
Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7]
AL • D
Sponsored 1/12/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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