Black Lung Benefits Reform Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor.
Black Lung Benefits Reform Act - Provides that employment in a coke oven area where the coal dust is substantially equivalent to that in underground coal mines at the time of employment shall be deemed to be employment of a miner in an underground coal mine for entitlement to black lung benefits. Provides that, for the purposes of eligibility for benefits under the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, if a miner was employed for twenty-five years or more in one or more underground coal mines there shall be a rebuttable presumption that he is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, that his death was due to pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of his death he was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis, and such presumption may be rebutted only by the negative result of a blood-gas study. Provides that if a miner was employed for thirty-five years or more in one or more underground coal mines there shall be an irrebuttable presumption that he is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, that his death was due to pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of his death he was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis. Provides that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall not apply all or any portion of any requirement that a miner work in an underground mine where he determines that conditions of a miner's employment in a coal mine other than an underground mine were substantially similar to conditions in an underground mine. Provides for an offset for benefits received under this Act against workmen's compensation benefits. States that for the purposes of assuring that all individuals who are eligible for benefits under this Act are afforded an opportunity to apply for and, if entitled thereto, to receive such benefits, the Secretary is directed to undertake a program in cooperation with mine operators and the Department of the Interior to locate individuals who likely are eligible for such benefits and have not filed a claim therefor. Establishes the Black Lung Disability Insurance Fund in the United States Treasury from which the Secretary of Labor shall pay benefits after December 31, 1973, in any case where a qualified disabled miner will not receive workmen's compensation benefits. Provides that coal mine operators shall pay premiums into the fund to insure the payment of benefits under this Act. Provides that an operator who fails or refuses to pay any premium required by this Act may be subject to a civil action or assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on October 9, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 9, 1974: Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN DENT (D-PA) introduced it on October 9, 1974, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on October 9, 1974, 19011 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19011 days ago, on October 9, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers