Ranking Member Scott Slams Trump Administration Failing to Hold Coal Operators Accountable

Ranking Member Scott Slams Trump Administration Failing to Hold Coal Operators Accountable

WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)proposed an overhaul of the Black Lung Self-Insurance Rule.

"Congress established the Black Lung Benefits Act to provide compensation and medical coverage for coal miners who develop black lung disease. And while the law requires coal operators to purchase insurance that covers benefits for miners and their survivors, the federal government failed for years to conduct oversight and update regulations to guarantee that self-insured companies maintain adequate resources to cover their benefits liabilities. As a result, coal operators in recent years have shifted an estimated $1 billion of their black lung liabilities onto taxpayers and threatened to drive the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (BLDTF) into insolvency.

"Today, President Trump is once again siding with the wealthy and well-connected and taking a sledgehammer to worker protections. Today's proposed rule would undermine a Biden-era rule that held coal operators accountable for covering the benefits owed to miners and their families suffering from black lung disease and ensured the responsibility did not fall on taxpayers. Instead of the simple, straightforward Biden-era rule that was easy to implement and guaranteed full protection for taxpayers, the new Trump proposal reverts to a complicated formula that the Labor Department struggled to enforce in the past.

"Families are already stretched thin, and wages are not keeping up with inflation. Taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for the harms caused by corporate negligence. Americans deserve a government that will stand up for their safety and economic security, not one that lets negligent coal operators off the hook at their expense."

Background:

In 2024, the Biden Administration issued a final rule, which improved oversight of the program to hold bad actors accountable and protect taxpayers from bearing the cost that should be borne by coal operators.

On December 1, 2025, Ranking Member Scott and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Ranking Member Ilhan Omar (D-MN) urged DOL to enforce the Biden- era Black Lung Self-Insurance Rule.

###

Press Contact

Democratic Press Office, 202-226-0853