 Life is good all this month at Appalachian Wireless. Get the LG G5 for just one penny with signup or renewal of a two-year service agreement. That's almost $100 off the regular price. Better service, bigger savings. That's today's Appalachian Wireless. Senator Joe Manchin received a warm welcome in Mate 1 today. At a town hall forum at the United Mine Workers of America Hall, Manchin told dozens of union members and others that he is fighting for them and fighting for the Minors Protection Act, which has been blocked from going before a congressional vote, largely by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader. We've got a lot of help on both sides. Every Democrat to sign on to it, 48, had 15, and shelly's helped me, we have 14, 15 different Republicans. We can pass the bill if Mitch McConnell is on the agenda. But during today's town hall, Manchin said he has confident the act, which would in part transfer money from abandoned mine lands funds to the 1974 pension plan for miners, will go before a vote. He's come out openly and says, I will support healthcare, and I truly, with all my heart, will have that done before this, before April's, before I have permanent healthcare, so you don't have to worry about your healthcare anymore. I believe that with all my heart and soul, we will set it down. Manchin said the issue surrounding the Minors Protection Act is pretty simple. Give miners what they've expected their entire careers, and give them what they deserve through the 1974 pension plan. Mitch McConnell has been the one person who's given us the hardest time at putting this bill on the agenda. And now we think that he's going to be approving OK with the miners' healthcare part of it, and I'm happy with that. We'll take any part we can, but you should fix it all. It's ridiculous to piecemeal. Well, I thought Mitch McConnell was real positive. You know, he's fighting for us. Some of them left him last December at the end of the session, and, you know, like I said before, when the tough got going, he was one of the toughest. Manchin also told the crowd at the event that President Donald Trump is, quote, all in on the Minors Protection Act. He said, however, that any action will have to be swift. If the act is not voted upon by the end of April, health benefits for many former miners could be affected or cut off. Reporting in Mate 1 for EKB News, I'm Chris Anderson.