(4) Given the remedial nature of the Black 
Lung Benefits Act, when an adjudicator determines 
that evidence is evenly balanced, it is appropriate for 
any resulting doubt to be resolved in favor of the 
claimant. The Supreme Court vacated this long-
standing legal principle, not on substantive grounds, 
but because its application conflicted with the re-
quirements of another statute. Such principle needs 
to be reinstated in the Black Lung Benefits Act be-
cause it provides fairness and improves the adminis-
tration of benefits. 
(5) Physicians who read lung x-rays as part of 
pulmonary assessments used in proceedings for 
claims under the Black Lung Benefits Act are re-
quired to demonstrate competency in classifying 
chest radiographs by becoming certified as B Read-
ers by the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and Health (referred to in this section as 
‘‘NIOSH’’). However, investigations have uncovered 
that there are NIOSH-certified B Readers who have 
systematically misclassified chest radiographs while 
employed by coal operators or their law firms for the 
purpose of opposing claims under such Act. In re-
sponse, the Department of Labor has directed claims 
examiners ‘‘not to credit negative chest x-ray read-
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ings for pneumoconiosis’’ by one widely used physi-
cian employed at a prominent medical center unless 
the conclusions of such physician ‘‘have been reha-
bilitated’’. Where chest radiographs are needed to 
establish entitlement to benefits, claimants should 
have access to accurate interpretations so as to en-
sure the fair adjudication of such claims. 
(6) As of the date of enactment of this Act, 
more than one year has passed since survivors were 
denied benefits on claims under the Black Lung 
Benefits Act that involved the consideration of chest 
radiograph interpretations rendered by a certain 
physician whose interpretations have since been de-
termined by the Department of Labor to be gen-
erally not worthy of credit. Such survivors should be 
permitted to file a new claim for benefits under such 
Act. However, a survivor is effectively barred from 
filing a new claim one year after a decision regard-
ing such benefits is final, constituting an injustice 
that merits a remedy. 
(7) Between the calendar years 2004 and 2014, 
a reduction in the number of administrative law 
judges in the Department of Labor, coupled with a 
large increase in the number of cases filed under the 
Black Lung Benefits Act, cuts to nondefense discre-
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tionary spending, furloughs resulting from seques-
tration, and the 16-day shutdown of the Federal 
Government during the calendar year 2013, has cre-
ated extensive delays in adjudicating claims under 
such Act and numerous other labor and employment 
laws. Due to the imbalance between resources and 
caseloads, a typical claim under such Act remains 
unresolved for an average of 40 months prior to a 
decision by an administrative law judge. These 
delays directly and severely impact the lives of work-
ers throughout the United States, placing an undue 
financial and emotional burden on the affected indi-
viduals and their families. 
(8) Contrary to the intent of Congress, benefits 
payments under the Black Lung Benefits Act do not 
automatically increase with the rising cost of living. 
Benefit payments are tied to the monthly pay rate 
for Federal employees in grade GS–2, step 1. In sev-
eral of the fiscal years prior to the enactment of this 
Act, there was a pay freeze for Federal employees, 
which had the effect of eliminating cost-of-living ad-
justments for miners, surviving spouses, and depend-
ents under the Black Lung Benefits Act during such 
years. 
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(9) A competent assessment of medical infor-
mation and testimony, which often involves multiple 
physicians disputing a diagnosis, is necessary in de-
termining whether to award benefits under the 
Black Lung Benefits Act. To ensure that a deter-
mination regarding a claim for benefits under such 
Act is fair and accurate, regular training is needed 
regarding— 
(A) developments in pulmonary medicine 
relating to black lung disease; 
(B) medical evidence necessary to sustain 
claims for such benefits; and 
(C) the proper weight to be given to con-
flicting evidence. 
(10) Black lung disease has been the underlying 
or contributing cause of death of more than 76,000 
miners since 1968. After decades of decline, the inci-
dence of coal miners with black lung disease is on 
the rise. According to NIOSH, miners are devel-
oping advanced cases of the disease at younger ages. 
In response, the Department of Labor has taken im-
portant steps to combat the disease, including pro-
mulgating a rule that reduces the allowed concentra-
tion of coal dust and eliminates weaknesses in the 
current dust sampling system. Retrospective studies 
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should be continued to determine whether revisions 
to the standards are necessary to eliminate the dis-
ease. 
(11) To eliminate an avoidable delay in evalu-
ating claims under such Act, the Department of La-
bor’s Inspector General has recommended legislation 
that would authorize the Department of Labor to 
have electronic access to miners’ earning records 
held by the Social Security Administration. 
TITLE I—BLACK LUNG BENEFITS 
PART A—IMPROVING THE PROCESS FOR FILING 
AND ADJUDICATING CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS 
SEC. 101. MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF MEDICAL INFOR-
MATION AND REPORTS. 
Part A of the Black Lung Benefits Act (30 U.S.C. 
901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 403. MANDATORY MEDICAL INFORMATION DISCLO-
SURE. 
‘‘(a) REPORT.—In any claim for benefits under this 
title, an operator that requires a miner to submit to a 
medical examination regarding the miner’s respiratory or 
pulmonary condition shall, not later than 21 days after 
the miner has been examined, deliver to the claimant a 
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