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Jenkins council adopts resolution urging federal increase to black lung benefits
Summary
The council unanimously approved a resolution encouraging U.S. lawmakers to support legislation to tie black lung benefits to inflation after a presentation citing 81 local recipients and more than $1.8 million in regional benefits in 2024.
The Jenkins City Council on March 3 unanimously adopted a resolution urging U.S. senators and representatives to support legislation that would raise federal black lung benefit rates and tie them to cost-of-living increases.
Courtney Rose of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center presented the request and cited local data provided in the resolution text: 81 recipients residing in Jenkins and over $1.8 million in disability and medical benefit payments to the broader service area in 2024. Rose told the council federal black lung benefits are not currently indexed to inflation and that their purchasing power has declined; she asked the city to sign a resolution in support of proposed legislative changes.
A clerk read the resolution’s language, which referenced local economic impacts of benefit payments and urged Jenkins’s federal representatives to support legislation to increase benefit levels. A council member moved to approve the resolution, the motion was seconded, and the council approved it by voice vote. The transcript does not record an individual roll call or tally.
The resolution text (as read aloud) describes the historical and local context for black lung disease, notes that federal payments help sustain local spending at medical facilities and businesses, and calls on specific federal lawmakers to back increases. The council’s action adds municipal support to a regional advocacy effort that staff and local advocates said targets state and federal lawmakers for policy change.
