U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Friday that a bankruptcy plan proposed by Patriot Coal Corp. is "outrageous and must be stopped" because it diverts money intended for coal miners' retirement benefits, Reuters reported on Friday. "Patriot Coal is trying to take $18 million of the $22 million put aside for retired coal miners, wives and widows and use it to pay its lawyers instead," Clinton said. "Ensuring healthcare and retirement security should be the first priority in a bankruptcy proceeding, not the last." Clinton, who is running for the Democratic Party nomination for the November 2016 presidential race, was referring to workers at an Indiana mine that operated under an agreement between a Patriot subsidiary and the Aluminum Company of America. According to court filings, the Patriot subsidiary operated the mine and in return Alcoa Inc. reimbursed some mine worker benefits. The two companies are now terminating that agreement, with Alcoa paying Patriot $22 million.
