I have long believed that improving the health and safety conditions for our coal miners is the best way to honor those who have perished in the coal fields.  Unfortunately, over the years, the previous Administration starved the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and political appointees diverted resources away from key programs that are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of our coal miners.  That is now changing. 

Since the terrible tragedies at the Sago and Alma mines, I have been successful in securing funds to hire additional inspectors, and to develop newer and better safety equipment underground.  In 2006, I helped secure passage of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act, which is helping to ensure that coal operators are planning and training for emergencies, and are better able to respond to crises.  The Senate Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, is holding hearings on mine safety, and I routinely meet and correspond with officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, as well as with coal miners. 

Coal is essential to both West Virginia's and our nation's economy.  It heats and lights our homes and businesses, and provides good paying jobs, especially in West Virginia.  It holds the promise to free our nation from its dependence on foreign oil.  We have a moral obligation to protect the men and women who go underground every day to dig the coal that fuels our economy, and to ensure that those men and women return safely to their loved ones after every shift.