Chairman Miller Statement on the Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act 

Wendesday, January 16, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, for today’s debate on H.R. 2768, the Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (S-MINER Act).

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I rise today in strong support of legislation that would greatly enhance health and safety protections in the nation’s mines.

Despite significant progress over the last several decades, mining remains one of the most dangerous jobs in America.

Mining fatalities occur at a rate more than seven times the average for all private industries.

We are reminded of how dangerous mining can be by tragedies like the one in Utah in August 2007, where six miners and three rescuers died in what appears to have been a preventable disaster, and the tragedies in Kentucky and West Virginia in 2006.

And accidents every year claim the lives of one or two miners at a time. In 2007, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, 32 coal miners and 31 metal and nonmetal miners died on the job.

Miners also face serious health risks, including a resurgence of black lung disease.

The legislation we are considering today, the S-MINER Act, builds on the work of the last Congress when it passed the MINER Act of 2006. 

The S-MINER Act represents a comprehensive approach to minimize the health and safety risks facing miners. 

It is critical that Congress take this action, because one thing is clear: We cannot leave mine safety and health to the Bush Administration.

When the Sago disaster occurred, we learned that the Bush Administration had withdrawn or delayed more than a dozen health and safety proposals that would have benefited miners.

The Bush Administration filled top-level positions at MSHA with executives from the very industry that the agency was charged with regulating. 

Dangerous rules favored by the industry, which would leave miners vulnerable to aggressive “belt air” fires, became law under this Administration.

From 2001 to 2006, the Bush Administration gutted MSHA by cutting funding and staffing, especially in coal mine enforcement, where the worst tragedies would strike in 2006 and 2007.  Even as coal production increased around the country, the Bush Administration cut MSHA’s coal enforcement personnel by 9 percent by 2006.

Then came Sago, Aracoma Alma, Darby, and Crandall Canyon.

Even after these recent tragedies, even after the MINER Act of 2006 was enacted, we continue to see neglect from this Administration.

The Inspector General found this past fall that MSHA was failing to conduct mandated inspections on time, leaving thousands of miners unprotected.  In 2006 alone, MSHA failed to complete required inspections at 107 mines, employing 7,500 miners.

And Secretary Chao failed to meet a simple deadline under the MINER Act to produce regulations on rescue teams at the end of 2007.

The track record of this Administration on mine safety and health has been horrendous.  Congress needs to act.

That’s what we’re here to do today – to make sure our government fulfills its obligations to protect those brave men and women who risk their safety to keep this country running.

The S-MINER Act addresses three broad issues: disaster prevention; improved emergency response; and long-term health risks. I will talk more about those three areas in a moment.

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Later today, in addition to the underlying bill, I will be offering a manager’s amendment that makes modifications to the bill.  Among other things, that amendment will address the troubling problem of substance abuse. 

Because of the injuries, overwork, and stress that miners often suffer, we have heard reports of substance abuse among miners. 

I want to be absolutely clear: Not one of the recent mining tragedies has been linked to drug use in any way. But we should nevertheless be proactive in heading off the dangers that drug use poses in the mines. 

A few states have already adopted drug testing requirements for miners.  Most, if not all, large coal mining companies already utilize some kind of drug testing program.

It will take further study to determine what role, if any, the federal government should play here. But this issue should be dealt with. 

That’s why the amendment I will offer later today will require the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study on best practices and will authorize her, within six months, to set up a drug testing and rehabilitation program for miners, in consultation with the miners, their unions, the operators, state agencies, and public health experts.

Two other amendments will be offered by Representatives Boucher and Ellsworth to build upon and modify this bill.  And I will be pleased to support those amendments as well. 

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To prevent disasters, the legislation includes the following provisions:

First, it adds new safeguards for retreat mining, a dangerous practice that involves removing the coal pillars originally left in place to hold up the roof of the mine.

Second, the S-MINER Act enshrines in the law critical standards for explosion-proof seals, the walls that block off an abandoned area of a mine, where methane can build to dangerous levels.

Third, the legislation requires mines to begin using new, fire-resistant conveyor belts to carry materials out of the mines and limit the use of belt air.

Fourth, the legislation strengthens MSHA’s enforcement hand. It provides MSHA with subpoena authority.  It makes it easier for MSHA to collect penalties; increases certain penalties; and allows MSHA to shut down mines that do not promptly abate violations.

Fifth, and finally, the legislation strengthens miners’ rights by establishing a new Miner Ombudsman.

We have heard from miners and their families about fear of retaliation if they speak up about safety hazards in the mines. An ombudsman would provide miners with an expert, independent, confidential outlet for reporting safety concerns.

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All of the steps I have just outlined are intended to prevent a disaster. But in the event that a disaster does occur, MSHA must do a better job of responding. To improve emergency response, the S-MINER Act takes the following steps:

First, it clarifies MSHA’s authority at the scene of a disaster.

Under the bill, when the Labor Secretary directs a rescue, the mine operator must cooperate and comply with MSHA’s requests for resources.

Second, the bill more clearly defines MSHA’s role as the primary communicator with families and the public at the scene of a disaster.

Third, the legislation requires MSHA to develop its own emergency response plan within six months.

The MINER Act required mine operators to develop such plans, but did not require the same of MSHA.

Fourth, the legislation establishes rules for independent investigations into disasters that result in multiple fatalities.

As we have heard repeatedly from witnesses before this committee, it simply defies common sense to expect MSHA to investigate itself.

And fifth, the legislation improves life-saving technology in the mines.

It requires mines to immediately begin installing the best-available technology for tracking and communicating with workers underground.

It takes steps to ensure that trapped miners have adequate air supplies now – not years from now.

And it requires NIOSH and MSHA to conduct random inspections of miners’ personal air packs, known as self-contained self-rescuers. SCSRs provide an hour’s worth of breathable air in the event of a disaster. 

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The S-MINER Act recognizes that, in addition to the risk of a catastrophic event, miners also face long-term health risks every day. These health risks claim the lives of countless numbers of miners each year.

The legislation updates black lung standards that are nearly four decades old and clearly inadequate. Generations of coal miners have suffered and died from black lung, a severe disease triggered by exposure to coal dust, and a new generation of miners is coming down with the disease.

The S-MINER Act would cut in half the levels of coal dust that miners could be legally exposed to. It would require the use of tamper-proof technology to measure exposure levels.

The legislation addresses other health risks, such as miners’ exposure to asbestos. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has for years delayed rules intended to protect workers from asbestos, and has weakened rules intended to ensure miners are aware of health risks they face.

The S-MINER Act would restore and strengthen these rules.  It would also establish a new set of procedures to help MSHA update exposure limits for hundreds of health hazards faced by miners, some of them decades out of date.

These health reforms have the strong support of many of the leading experts in workplace health nationwide.

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This legislation, along with the amendment I will be offering later today, will give miners and their families the peace of mind of knowing that this House has taken necessary steps to dramatically improve health and safety protections on the job.

We owe it to the loved ones of miners who died on the job to pass these protections today. I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853