S. 2205: Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2019
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S. 2205: Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2019
116th Congress · introduced 2019-07-23 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2019-07-23 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2019
Plain summary
Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2019 This bill revises requirements for miners' claims for pneumoconiosis (black lung) benefits. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Labor to pay the attorneys' fees of prevailing parties on a qualifying benefit claim; give a claimant the opportunity to substantiate a claim for benefits through a pulmonary evaluation; authorize a CT (computerized tomography) scan in diagnosing complicated pneumoconiosis; educate certain individuals who work on black lung benefits about medical evidence relevant to claims; use data from continuous personal dust monitors to determine whether to make changes to respirable dust concentration standards, controls, and measurements; and develop a strategy to reduce delays in adjudication of black lung benefits claims. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on barriers to health care faced by coal miners with black lung. The bill authorizes (1) black lung clinics to use federal funds to help individuals file claims, and (2) previously denied claimants to file a new claim for black lung benefits within one year. The bill prohibits a person from (1) knowingly and willfully making a false statement or misrepresentation in increasing or reducing black lung benefits, or (2) threatening or misleading a participant in a proceeding regarding black lung benefits. Further, the bill revises (1) the standards of medical evidence that establish a presumption that a miner is totally disabled by black lung, and (2) payments to such miners. Lastly, the bill provides statutory authority for the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2019
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] · 4 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark R. Warner (D-VA)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (3)
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Statute
- A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s2205.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s2205 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116