Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens miners' and survivors' ability to obtain Black Lung benefits and speeds interim fee and expense payments, at the cost of higher near-term cash demands on the Black Lung Fund and increased financial liability for mining operators (with possible downstream effects on costs and litigation).
Miners with disabling pneumoconiosis and their survivors will be more likely to receive death and disability benefits because the bill restores pre-1981 coverage language and raises the bar for operators to rebut causation (requires proving no part of death was caused by pneumoconiosis).
Contested claimants (often low-income miners and survivors) can obtain prompt interim payment of attorneys' fees and unreimbursed medical expenses up to set caps without waiting for a final award, reducing immediate out-of-pocket burdens.
When claims ultimately award compensation, liable operators must reimburse the Black Lung Benefits Fund for amounts it advanced, which should reduce the Fund's net long-term cost to taxpayers.
Mining operators will face increased liability and potential cash reimbursements to the Black Lung Fund, raising costs for employers and possibly increasing insurance premiums or affecting operations.
The Black Lung Benefits Fund may need to front higher attorneys' fees and medical costs in the short term, creating cash-flow strain and potential increased demands on taxpayer-backed resources until operators reimburse those amounts.
Caps on attorney fee and medical expense payments may be insufficient for complex cases, leaving claimants or their attorneys with uncompensated work or unreimbursed costs beyond the limits.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Broadens presumptions linking miner deaths to pneumoconiosis, restores prior disability eligibility, creates a Labor-run program to pay certain legal and medical costs from the Black Lung Fund, and orders GAO reviews.
Introduced December 16, 2025 by Mark R. Warner · Last progress December 16, 2025
Expands and strengthens benefits for miners and survivors by broadening presumptions that a miner’s death was caused by pneumoconiosis, restoring earlier disability-eligibility language, and creating a Department of Labor-administered program to pay certain attorneys' fees and unreimbursed medical expenses from the Black Lung Benefit Fund for qualifying contested claims. Requires the Government Accountability Office to complete three reviews and report to Congress within one year on interim payments, benefit adequacy, and rules about survivor claims.