[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   CELEBRATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday of this week the Department 
of Labor will be hosting a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of 
passage of the Mine Safety and Health Act. Although I will not be able 
to attend that ceremony, I do want to call it to my colleagues' 
attention, and commend those in government, industry, the mining work 
force, and others, who have helped, over that period of time, to make 
our country's mining industry the safest in the world.
  Anniversaries are a time not only to look back but to look forward. 
Clearly one of the major challenges over the coming years, in all 
Government programs, is to determine how can we assure the best use of 
the taxpayer's dollar. We know now what maybe Congress did not 
appreciate 25 years ago, that we cannot afford to do everything, and so 
we have to make sure that when Government spends money, it is getting 
the most value for the taxpayer's dollar.
  In that regard, I would note for my colleagues that the Mine Safety 
and Health Administration spends over $550 per year per covered 
employee, while its sister agency, OSHA spends about $2.84 per covered 
employee. We should determine whether it is good use of taxpayer 
dollars to continue to duplicate many of the functions performed by 
these two agencies. Just as is true with OSHA, the Mine Safety and 
Health Administration spends too much time inspecting safe work sites 
and enforcing trivial requirements.
  Over the coming weeks and months, I hope to examine those issues and 
see whether the answers given 25 years ago remain the right answers 
today for allowing our country's mining industry to be competitive in a 
tough world marketplace, while continuing the improvements that have 
been made in worker safety in this very important part of our Nation's 
economy.

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