West Virginia U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is working hard to pass legislation this week that will protect healthcare and pension benefits for retired coal miners.
Congress is working on a temporary government spending bill this week as lawmakers wrap up work for the year.
The Coal Miners Protection Act is included in that discussion. It would prevent any lapse in important benefits for thousands of retired miners and their families that are scheduled to expire at the end of the month.
Senator Capito says she's excited to extend benefits to miners.
"It's not a long enough bridge, I don't think," Capito said. "I wish we'd gone all the way to the end of the fiscal year which would be September, but we will fund government until April which will extend Miner health benefits until that time. So our miners aren't going to lose their benefits in December, which is the deadline which they were forced to look at, but it's not a long enough and not a permanent solution."
Capito also said one of her main priorities for 2017 is repealing Obamacare.