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Senator Byrd

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May 24, 2006

Making Progress on Mine Safety

Nineteen West Virginia coal miners have lost their lives on the job this year, and the Senate has responded with significant mine safety legislation. As the Senate passed the MINER Act, Senator Byrd talked about the importance of the legislation.

This morning, the Senate unanimously passed critical mine safety legislation in response to the coal mine tragedies that robbed the State of West Virginia of nineteen of its sons this year. A process that began with the introduction of the West Virginia Delegation’s mine safety bill has taken a significant step forward today.

We have learned from the tragedy at Sago, and the subsequent mining fatalities in West Virginia, Kentucky, Utah, Alabama, and Maryland. If the House acts quickly on legislation – and the federal mine regulators are quick in implementing the bill – the miners of our nation will soon have the oxygen, communications, and rescue teams necessary to save lives and prevent future tragedies. We saw in Kentucky over the weekend that these mine accidents can happen at any time, and so the Senate’s quick and unanimous passage of the Senate Committee-reported bill this morning is greeted by all who mine coal with welcome relief.

On behalf of the many grateful coal miners and their families in West Virginia, I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senators Enzi and Kennedy. I also thank Senators Isakson and Murray for their efforts. The chairmen and ranking members of the full committee and the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee committed themselves to the task of producing a mine safety bill, and they were unyielding in that effort. Along with Senator Isakson, Chairman Enzi and Senator Kennedy visited the Sago and Alma mines in West Virginia. They talked with the families of those who perished. They took a personal interest in the safety of the coal miners of my state.

When it came time to draft a Committee bill, the chairman and ranking member graciously solicited the ideas of Senator Rockefeller and myself. Senator Rockefeller has been recovering from back surgery for several weeks now, but he contributed much to the discussions that produced this bill. Even in recovery, Senator Rockefeller is a strong presence in the Senate and a forceful advocate for the miners of West Virginia.

With Senate passage today, our hopes are high that the House of Representatives will act quickly on legislation that can be enacted into law. The sooner the Congress passes legislation, the safer our coal miners will be at work and the greater the likelihood that future disasters can be prevented. Our nation’s coal miners and their families deserve no less.