Eastern Kentucky black lung advocates urge U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers to back bill boosting federal disability benefits

A Kentucky group representing miners and people living with black lung disease is urging U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers to support federal legislation aimed at strengthening disability benefits for affected workers.

In a Tuesday letter, the Black Lung Association of Southeastern Kentucky urged Rogers to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Support Our Miners Act, according to a report from Kentucky Lantern. The group said the bill would significantly boost the federal disability benefits received by miners with black lung, an occupational lung condition tied to years of coal dust exposure.

The request was directed to Rogers as the bill’s effort moved through the federal legislative process. The letter emphasized the practical impact of disability benefits for families affected by serious respiratory illness, and called on Rogers to use his role in the House to advance the measure, Kentucky Lantern reported.

Black lung disability benefits are administered through federal programs for eligible coal miners and certain survivors, and advocates frequently argue that benefit levels and access can determine whether families can cover medical care and daily living expenses. In this case, the advocacy letter centers on what the group characterizes as a needed increase in federal assistance through the Support Our Miners Act.

Rogers has not been publicly described in the report as agreeing or declining to take additional action, and no timeline for a response was included in the available coverage. The next procedural steps for the bill would depend on whether Rogers and other lawmakers add co-sponsorships, and on committee consideration and movement to House votes.

The request also underscores how health and disability costs remain a continuing public concern in parts of Eastern Kentucky, where coal mining shaped local economies for decades. For miners and their families, the group’s argument is that stronger federal disability benefits can reduce financial strain as treatment needs and long-term health limitations grow.