McConnell on bipartisan bill to protect coal miners' pensions

A bipartisan Senate bill introduced Wednesday would "secure the pensions for nearly 90,000 retired coal miners as a recent wave of coal company bankruptcies threatens the solvency of the federal pension fund," Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters. "If passed, the bill would secure the pensions of around 92,000 retired and working coal miners and ensure health care for 12,000 retirees."

The telling news was that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined fellow Republican Shelly Moore Capito and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia to sponsor the bill. It would use money from the federal Abandoned Mine Land program, funded by a coal tax, to prevent the United Mine Workers of America's pension plan from becoming insolvent.

"A bankruptcy filing last week by one of the largest coal mining companies, Murray Energy, was expected to hasten the insolvency of the pension fund - estimated to occur by 2022, Volcovici reports. "Eight other coal companies have filed for bankruptcy over the last two years as natural gas has taken over as the primary fuel for U.S. power plants."

The miners' union has been asking Congress to pass such legislation for years, and called the bill a breakthrough. However, the bill does not address the future solvency of health insurance for miners with black-lung disease. "Manchin had included a measure to restore a higher coal excise tax to boost the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund in an earlier version of a pension bill, but said Wednesday he would introduce a separate bill to tackle that issue," Volcovici reports. "For now, he said the Senate has a path forward to address the looming crisis facing the pension fund."

As 'war on coal' narrative fades, UMWA bases campaign contributions on whether candidates back miner pensions

The United Mine Workers of America has reverted to form. "The top U.S. coal miners' union has put a larger share of its campaign donations behind Democrats ahead of the Nov. 6 elections than in 2016, as dimming hopes for a coal industry revival led by President Donald Trump reinforce fears about the safety of worker pensions," Reuters reports.

The UMWA "has donated nearly 84 percent of its money to Democratic candidates and committees in national races . . . a roughly 20-point jump from 2016, when Trump courted coal miners with promises of an industry comeback," Timothy Gardner and Grant Smith write. "The shift marks a setback for efforts by Trump and the Republican party to maintain control of Congress. He had won over many U.S. coal miners during the last election with promises to scrap Obama-era environmental regulations blamed for the industry’s demise. A Reuters survey of utilities found that the administration’s replacement of Obama-era carbon regulations will not save U.S. coal-fired power plants from shutdown."

The union told Reuters that its main criterion for contributions is support for miner pension funds that "have been undermined by coal company bankruptcies and which the Republican-led Congress has failed to backstop," Gardner and Smith report.

West Virginia University political scientist Simon Haeder told Reuters that the UMWA's giving returns the union to its core labor values, and away from hopes for rebound in the industry. “The ‘war on coal’ narrative is basically over,” Haeder said. “Now the things that people are concerned about are health care and pensions. . . . These are the overwhelming issues that dominate their lives.” The union has more retirees than working miners.

Apply by Oct. 8 for paid D.C. fellowship to study pensions

The National Press Foundation invites journalists to apply for an all-expenses-paid fellowship to study pension issues. The fellowship will be held Dec. 2-5 in Washington, D.C., and will cover costs for airfare, ground transportation, hotels and most meals.

Topics to be covered include: the state of public and private pensions; pension investment and transparency; workforce and retirement issues; pension modernization and reforms; pension management and debt; and the impact of pension issues on retirees.

The fellowship is sponsored by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the National Public Pension Coalition. The deadline to apply is Oct. 8. Click here to learn more or to apply.