U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says she’ll go directly to the White House about cuts to agencies affecting miner safety and health.
President Donald Trump was surrounded by coal miners this week when he signed executive orders to boost coal.
This came just days after his administration cut staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which conducts black lung research and screenings.
Also, the Mine Safety and Health Administration closed its office in Wyoming County after terminating leases for numerous offices nationwide.
Capito said she raised the black lung issue with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week and that she’d go to the president next.
“He needs to make sure he’s doing everything he can, and I think he wants to, to make sure they’re in a safe work environment, and that includes the research that’s been done at NIOSH,” she said.
On Wednesday, MSHA suspended a rule intended to reduce exposure in mines to silica dust, an aggravating factor in black lung disease.