Date: 2010-05-20
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the chair of the Rules Committee for bringing this rule to the floor of the House and to thank the ranking member. Mr. DREIER. from California for his cooperation and support for this resolution. I. too. associate myself with the remarks of the gentlewoman from New York . who probably has more experience and understanding of these tragedies than any Member who doesnt live in the coal regions of our country. and has spent a lot of time with myself and others on our committee discussing these issues of coal mine safety. tragically throughout the years as we have had one accident after another over that time. The resolution that the Rules Committee brings to the House floor today reflects the seriousness with which Congress takes the issue of mine safety. Last month we watched the tragic events unfold in the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. The memory of the 29 miners who lost their lives in that disaster must stand as a reminder of the work that remains to be done to keep our Nations miners safe. There is much to be learned about the disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine. I have been heartened by the swift and decisive action taken so far by the Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. I expect their investigations into this particular tragedy will be comprehensive. The resolution we are discussing today. however. will be in furtherance of our committees broader oversight duties regarding the health and the safety of our Nations coal miners. Last year. our committee staff began looking into issues relating to the backlog of cases at the Federal Mine Safety Review Commission. This commission and its administrative law judges hear mine operators contests of the citations Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors issue against the operators. This backlog has potentially severe ramifications for miners safety. The backlog has prevented MSHA from placing mines on what is called a pattern of violations because so many of those mine citations remain bound up in the litigation. Because of this increased scrutiny it would bring. mines warned by MSHA that they are about to be designated as having a potential pattern of violations generally significantly improve their mine safety record. But the mine owners have figured out a way to game that system. and therefore. the miners and their families are robbed of this very powerful tool that would ensure greater safety of their workplace and perhaps avoid some of the tragedies that we have just witnessed. In February. our committee explored a recent uptick in the citation contests and how it might ultimately affect safety in the mines. In the wake of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster and our hearings on mine operator citation appeals and backlogs. I am deeply concerned about what coal mining conglomerates have done to encourage or discourage safe mining practices. That is why I believe that our committees oversight responsibility would benefit from the authority to hold and compel witnesses attendance at depositions. Deposition authority is a powerful tool for many investigations. but some investigations would particularly benefit from the tool. Last Congress. Congress granted the committee deposition authority in our investigation of the Crandall Canyon mine disaster in Utah. This successful investigation led to a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. in large part because of the evidence that our staff obtained in those depositions. I understand that the Department of Justice continues to investigate our referral. I believe that the deposition authority is equally justified in this case. A deposition can serve as an intermediate step between a full public hearing. an executive session. and informal staff interviews. It creates a formal record. yet it allows us to explore issues in a more sustained manner than would be practical at a hearing. Indeed. it allows us to realize that the potential witness does not have the knowledge of particular issues to justify calling them at a hearing. It was because of the usefulness of this investigative tool that our committee this Congress approved the committee rules package to include deposition procedural rules. We wanted to build on our successes and our execution of the deposition authority granted last Congress. and we wanted to be ready should the circumstances justify seeking the authority again. Unfortunately. the tragic deaths at Upper Big Branch have again highlighted the importance of our investigative work on mine safety and that our committee again investigate the issues related to mine safety. The committees deposition rule respects and affirms the rights of those individuals being deposed and respects the rights of the minority on our committee. It has been worked out with the minority on our committee. It is the result of a bipartisan process began last Congress and reaffirmed with the adoption of our committee rules this Congress. We have used the tool sparingly and effectively in the past. and I assure the committee that we will use it sparingly and effectively in this investigation. Next week. my committee will be conducting a field hearing in West Virginia with Congressman RAHALL. We will be hearing from the families of the victims of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion. Just as we made sure to hear from the families of Sago and the Crandall Canyon. we will hear the concerns of these families. With every such hearing we pledge to the families to never turn a deaf ear to their concerns. their knowledge. to make sure that mining is safer. I intend to keep that pledge. and the resolution before us is part of keeping that pledge. Again. I want to thank the ranking Republican on our committee. Congressman KLINE. and his staff who worked closely and effectively with me and my staff in framing the deposition rules and in framing our future investigations and going before the Rules Committee to ask for this authority from the Rules Committee. Again. I want to thank the chair and the ranking member for bringing this matter to the floor and thank Congressman RAHALL for his support for our committee having this authority.