3.0.0 1903 2023-01-11T13:36:05Z 2023-01-11T13:36:05Z House HR 2017-04-05 115 [Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 5, 2017)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. SCOTT of Virginia:H.R. 1903.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the UnitedStates.[Page H2754]]]> hsed00 Education and the Workforce Committee House Standing Referred to 2017-04-05T14:01:35Z Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2017 115 854 S 2017-04-05 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Related bill CRS 2017-04-05 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsed00 Education and the Workforce Committee 2017-04-05 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2017-04-05 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress S000185 Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3] Robert Scott D VA C. "Bobby" 3 N T000472 Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-41] Mark Takano D CA 41 2017-04-05 True C001069 Rep. Courtney, Joe [D-CT-2] Joe Courtney D CT 2 2017-04-05 True W000808 Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] Frederica Wilson D FL S. 24 2017-04-05 True P000607 Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] Mark Pocan D WI 2 2017-04-06 False L000579 Rep. Lowenthal, Alan S. [D-CA-47] Alan Lowenthal D CA S. 47 2017-11-16 False S001170 Rep. Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH-1] Carol Shea-Porter D NH 1 2018-02-02 False D000623 Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-11] Mark DeSaulnier D CA 11 2018-02-02 False K000391 Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] Raja Krishnamoorthi D IL 8 2018-02-05 False G000551 Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-3] Raúl Grijalva D AZ M. 3 2018-02-06 False A000370 Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] Alma Adams D NC S. 12 2018-02-06 False R000577 Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13] TIM RYAN D OH 13 2018-02-13 False C001101 Rep. Clark, Katherine M. [D-MA-5] Katherine Clark D MA M. 5 2018-02-13 False D000216 Rep. DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3] ROSA DELAURO D CT 3 2018-02-13 False B001227 Rep. Brady, Robert A. [D-PA-1] ROBERT BRADY D PA A. 1 2018-02-15 False D000482 Rep. Doyle, Michael F. [D-PA-14] MIKE DOYLE D PA 14 2018-02-27 False S000480 Rep. Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [D-NY-25] LOUISE SLAUGHTER D NY M. 25 2018-02-27 False G000559 Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-3] John Garamendi D CA 3 2018-02-27 False N000188 Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] Donald Norcross D NJ 1 2018-02-27 False S000344 Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-30] BRAD SHERMAN D CA 30 2018-03-13 False C001090 Rep. Cartwright, Matt [D-PA-17] Matt Cartwright D PA 17 2018-03-22 False Labor and Employment Accidents Administrative law and regulatory procedures Administrative remedies Air quality Business records Cardiovascular and respiratory health Civil actions and liability Coal Congressional oversight Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation Criminal procedure and sentencing Department of Labor Employment and training programs Employment discrimination and employee rights Environmental assessment, monitoring, research Evidence and witnesses Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management Government studies and investigations Labor standards Lawyers and legal services Medical tests and diagnostic methods Mining Wages and earnings Worker safety and health Labor and Employment 00 2017-04-05 Introduced in House 2017-05-24T17:28:42Z Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2017

This bill amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to revise requirements governing: (1) investigations of mine accidents; (2) miners' rights and protections (e.g., whistle-blower rights and protections); (3) mine health and safety standards; (4) underground coal mines; and (5) health and safety training for miners.

The Department of Labor, when investigating coal or other mines, must: (1) determine why an accident occurred and whether there were violations of law, mandatory health and safety standards, or other requirements; (2) refer to the Department of Justice cases involving violations of federal criminal law; and (3) make recommendations to avoid a recurrence of an accident. The bill requires independent investigation of a mine accident under certain circumstances.

The bill expands Labor's enforcement authority, including by requiring Labor to: (1) revoke the approval of mine operators' plans or programs based on certain criteria, and (2) order mine operators to withdraw all persons from a mine until Labor approves a new plan. The bill revises civil and criminal penalties, including by subjecting a mine operator who knowingly violates health or safety standards to a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The bill also expands whistle-blower rights and protections, including by: (1) giving miners' rights and protections to all employees of a mine, and (2) prohibiting discrimination against those employees for refusing to perform duties if they have a good-faith and reasonable belief that their duties pose a safety or health hazard.

Underground coal mines operators must: (1) implement a communication program to brief miners of current mine conditions, and (2) install atmospheric monitoring systems.

]]> Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2017 Display Title Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2017 Official Title as Introduced To improve compliance with mine safety and health laws, empower miners to raise safety concerns, prevent future mine tragedies, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Short Titles as Introduced Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2017 Introduced in House 2017-04-05T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115hr1903ih/xml/BILLS-115hr1903ih.xml 2017-04-05 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.