Date: 2010-12-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. the House today considers urgently needed legislation to address lifethreatening gaps in our Nations mine safety laws. Despite progress made over several decades in mine safety. more than 600 miners have been killed on the job in the last 10 years. Most recently. 29 coal miners were killed in a massive explosion in April that killed miners over a 2mile swath and twisted railcar tracks like pretzels. Since that tragedy. we have learned a great deal about the systemic weaknesses in mine safety laws. After every major tragedy. promises are made by public officials to miners and their familiesto the survivorsthat timely action will be taken to make sure that this thing never happens again. The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act is our chance to finally make a downpayment on that promise. First. the bill addresses the broken pattern of violation sanctions. With these fixes. those mine operators who repeatedly violate safety standards will be held accountable. Current law on the patterns of violations has so many loopholes that it invites delays and allows some coal mine operators to game the system. Massey Energys Upper Big Branch mine was a perfect example of an operator repeatedly skirting the law and putting workers lives in the crosshairs. The Upper Big Branch mine was subject to 515 violations and to 54 withdrawal orders in 2009. more than any other mine in the country. Red flags were waving about this mines repeated unwarrantable failures. And yet. because Massey indiscriminately appealed many of those violations. it evaded the stronger sanctions that would have improved the conditions and perhaps saved lives. The bill sets clear and fair criteria to identify mines with significant safety problems and eliminates the incentives for mine owners that game the system. Had this been in place. I believe the 29 miners who lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch mine would be alive today. Second. the bill gives miners modern protections against retaliation if they speak up about the dangerous conditions under which they work. Stanley "Goose" Stewart was working in the Upper Big Branch mine the day it exploded. He testified twice before the committee about the persistent fear and intimidation faced by workers from the Massey management. He said that in his years working for Massey. they took coal mining back to the early 1900s. He urged us to give miners the ability to stand up to rogue mine operators. This bill empowers miners to speak up about safety concerns by strengthening whistleblower protection and gives miners the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions. Third. many have asked why the Mine Safety and Health Administration failed to close down unsafe mines. such as Upper Big Branch. with repeated violations of the law. This bill clarifies that MSHA can seek a court order to close a mine that engages in a course of conduct that endangers the miners. Fourth. MSHA lacks sufficient subpoena power for investigation inspections. Under current law. MSHA. the Mine Safety and Health Administration. can only issue subpoenas in the context of witnesses for a public hearing. The legislation gives MSHA the subpoena power it needs for full investigations. Fifth. miners testified that in many parts of the country MSHA does not inspect mines during weekends or night shifts. This legislation would require that inspections occur on all shifts and days of the week. If inspection times are unpredictable. operators will be motivated to work more safely across all shifts. Sixth. the bill provides meaningful sanctions against those who intentionally provide advance notice of unannounced mine safety and health inspections. All too often. mine operators call ahead of inspectors and direct that violations be covered up. depriving mine inspectors of the ability to detect unsafe working conditions. Finally. witnesses told us how safety devices like methane detectors were tampered with so that mining equipment would not automatically shut down and stop production if methane levels got too high. Today. this violation is a mere misdemeanor. Under this legislation. tampering with these devices would be a felony. These reforms will only apply to coal mines. underground mines that release significant amounts of methane and combustible gases. and underground metal mines. The bill is the result of months of deliberations with stakeholders and experts. including miners. families. academics. State officials. and various sectors of the mining industry. The legislation is part of our ongoing commitment to the families of the Aracoma. Sago. Crandall Canyon. Darby. and. now. Upper Big Branch mine disasters that their loved ones deaths would not be in vain and their calls for change would be heeded. The legislation also honors the late Senator Robert C. Byrd. who was a champion of our Nations miners. After the Sago and Aracoma tragedies. Senator Byrd said. "if we truly are a moral Nation . . . then these moral values must be reflected in the government agencies that are charged with protecting the lives of our citizens." I agree. This legislation redeems that sentiment of Senator Byrd. and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.