Howard Berkes:
Well, there's really no connection between what the Trump administration's promises are on restoring mining and what's happening to these miners.
What would really help these miners is an attempt by the Trump administration and Congress to make sure that they get the benefits that they need when they become sick, and to change the regulations, because the regulations don't directly address silica exposure.
That's been recommended for decades. That hasn't happened for decades. And there's no proposal in the Trump administration to address that.
The other thing is that mining has declined. There's little that a politician can do to restore it. This is all about the price of natural gas. And as long as natural gas is a lot cheaper, coal's not going to be able to compete.
But, aside from that, the reality is that there are 1,000 mines still operating today across the country, and 50,000 coal miners still working. And there will be tens of thousands of coal miners still working for years to come, and they deserve to be able to come home from work every day healthy and whole and alive.
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