Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Monday that he has secured a promise from President-elect Trump to help find a solution to permanently extend healthcare for tens of thousands of retired coal miners and their widows who are set to lose it in just a few months.
“Today, I spoke with President-elect Donald Trump and he assured me that he will help fight to secure a permanent health care solution for our retired miners …,” Manchin said in a statement.
“I look forward to working with him, his administration and my colleagues in order to keep America’s promise to our miners and make sure they receive the healthcare they have earned and deserve,” he added.
Manchin and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., along with several other senators from coal-producing states, are trying to help more than 22,000 retired miners and their widows who will lose healthcare benefits in a few months if Congress doesn’t act.
Manchin and other advocates argue that the effort to replenish the funds would keep promises made to coal miners in 1946 by then-President Harry Truman to avoid a miners strike and help the economy after World War II.
Trump, during a celebrated a moment of his campaign last year, donned a hard hat and promised a crowd in West Virginia that he would take care of coal miners and bring jobs back to the region. Manchin, Capito and other supporters have tried to enlist Trump’s support in their effort to save miners’ healthcare, calling on him to keep his word.
Manchin, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, threatened a partial shutdown of the government in early December over the miners’ health issue until they secured a promise that the Senate would pass a longer-term fix from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
