WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner have requested the highest level of funding in Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) to support black lung health clinics that serve Virginia’s coal miners. In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Kaine and Warner asked that the Subcommittee’s annual funding bill include the full authorized amount of $10 million to support the clinics, which provide health screenings, medical care, and assistance in securing black lung benefits for miners.

“The clinics have faced a substantial increase in demands from coal miners for screening, diagnosis, and pulmonary rehabilitation. Some clinics are so underfunded that they are operating with obsolete and inefficient diagnostic equipment…,” wrote Kaine and Warner. “…we respectfully ask that coal miners – many of who reside in rural communities – receive the medical services and support that they need and deserve.”

Joining Kaine and Warner on the letter were Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Bob Casey (D-PA),  and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). A full copy of the letter is available here.

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