WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) today voted for a Fiscal Year 2020 spending package that includes a long sought-after fix for retired coal miner pensions. Bost was part of a bipartisan coalition of congressional leaders that has for years sought a long-term solution to save United Mine Workers of America pensions from insolvency.

“As the grandson of a UMWA representative, Southern Illinois’s mining heritage is, quite literally, in my blood,” said Bost. “For years, our miners and their families have faced uncertainty over whether or not their pensions would be there when they needed it most. It took a lot of work from leaders on both sides of the aisle to get this done. I couldn’t be happier that these dedicated men and women will have the benefits they’ve earned and the peace of mind they’ve been lacking for so long.”

In addition to the miners’ pension fix, the FY2020 spending package also included nearly $1.4 billion in funding for construction of the wall along our southern border and repeals of Obamacare’s medical device tax and the “Cadillac Tax” on high-end health insurance plans.

 

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