Committee on Education and Labor : U.S. House of Representatives

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Rep. Miller Expresses Concerns To Chao Over Progress Of MINER Act Implementation

Thursday, February 1, 2007

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today wrote to U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to express his concerns with the Department's progress in implementing the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, signed into law last June.

In 2006, 47 coal miners and 25 metal and non-metal miners died in U.S. mines. To improve mine safety, Miller said that the Education and Labor Committee - which has jurisdiction over worker safety issues - will conduct oversight this year and examine the need for additional policies, regulations and legislation.

Miller's letter to Chao is below.

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February 1, 2007

Honorable Elaine Chao
Secretary of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20210

Dear Secretary Chao:

It has been nearly eight months since the President signed into law the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.  While the law is limited in its scope, I believe it is critical that it be implemented quickly and effectively.

However, I have concerns about your Department's progress in implementing the MINER Act.  Listed below are three of the specific areas where MINER Act implementation has been too slow or uneven. Please respond to this letter in writing and describe what plans you have to accelerate and improve the law's implementation in these specific areas:

By this time, all underground coal miners were to have available to them a specific number, based on the mine, of reliable self-contained self-rescuers to enable them to reach safety in an emergency, but they do not.  

By this time, all underground coal miners should be receiving advanced training in SCSR use during simulated mine evacuations, but they are not.

By this time, all underground coal miners were to have available to them caches of breathable air should they become trapped, but mine operators have still not received any guidance from the Mine Safety and Health Administration about how much air is required.

These are not the only aspects of implementation about which I am concerned, and I will be following up with you in the future on other matters.  But I think your progress in these three areas is a critical bellwether of your commitment to the law.

This year, the Education and Labor Committee is going to take a thorough look at mine safety and health in this country, including the need for additional policies, regulations or legislation.  I hope you agree that we must do everything in our power to make sure that 2007 is not a repeat of 2006, which was a disastrous and tragic year for miners and their families.

I look forward to your prompt reply to this letter.

Sincerely yours,

GEORGE MILLER
Chairman, Education and Labor Committee

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