finds the following: (1) The Black Lung Benefits Act ( 30 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) was enacted to provide health care and modest benefits to coal miners who develop pneumoconiosis (referred to in this section as black lung disease ) resulting from exposure to coal dust during their employment. Yet the determination of a claimant's eligibility for these benefits often requires complex, adversarial litigation. Resource disparities between coal companies and such claimants are widespread within the statutory and regulatory framework of such Act. Comprehensive reforms are necessary to ensure that coal miners are not at a disadvantage when filing claims for benefits. (2) The Government Accountability Office has found that many claimants under the Black Lung Benefits Act are not equipped with the medical and legal resources necessary to develop evidence to meet the requirements for benefits. Miners often lack complete and reliable medical evidence, consequently increasing the risk that the individuals who review claims for benefits will be presented with insufficient medical evidence. Similarly, without better options for legal representation, significant numbers of such claimants proceed with their claims through a complex and potentially long administrative process without resources that Department of Labor officials and black lung disease experts note are important for developing evidence and supporting their claims. Only 33 percent of claimants are represented by an attorney during the initial claims determination. Absent efforts to remedy administrative problems and address structural weaknesses in the process for obtaining benefits, claimants with meritorious claims will not receive benefits. (3) Full exchange and disclosure between the parties of relevant medical information is essential for fair adjudication of claims under the Black Lung Benefits Act, regardless of whether the parties intend to submit such information into evidence. Records of adjudications reveal that some mine operators’ legal representatives