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Bampot

Republicans Just Handed Down a Death Sentence to the Nation's Coal Miners (inthesetimes.com)

submitted 7 months ago by Bampot to c/dangerdust

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Unfortunately, the committee, whose membership skews Republican (34 to 27), has proven that it is not actually interested in making a positive impact on every American life. Workers — particularly the most vulnerable among them — get the short end of the stick, and coal miners get a sharp knife in the back.

The language is bloodless, but the intent is utterly vicious: These highly paid, pampered modern aristocrats sat back in their padded chairs and casually handed down a potential death sentence to 44,000 people.

That’s how many coal miners currently work in the U.S. as of June 2024. One in 5 of those miners — those who have spent more than 20 years underground — is suffering from coal miner’s pneumoconiosis, the dreadful degenerative lung disease known more colloquially as black lung.

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[–] snausagesinablanket 5 points 7 months ago

To summarize:

The article discusses the recent actions of House Republicans, particularly through the House Appropriations Committee, which voted to block enforcement of a safety rule aimed at protecting coal miners from black lung disease. On July 10, the committee, led by Alabama Republican Rep. Robert B. Aderholt, made significant cuts to the Department of Labor's funding, slashing it by 23%. These cuts impact several areas, including the Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, effectively reducing protections for vulnerable workers.

One critical aspect of the appropriations bill is Section 123, which prevents the enforcement of a new rule designed to lower miners' exposure to respirable crystalline silica, a major cause of black lung disease. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has been advocating for reduced silica exposure limits since 1974, but the current political climate has hindered progress. The new rule, published in April 2024 by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, aimed to reduce silica exposure to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, potentially saving over a thousand lives and preventing thousands of illnesses.

The article criticizes Aderholt and his colleagues for betraying coal miners, highlighting the irony of their political rhetoric that claims to support blue-collar workers. The United Mine Workers and other advocates have condemned this decision, emphasizing the severe health risks it poses to miners. The article concludes with a call for Congress to reject this harmful provision and prioritize the well-being of mining families.