[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 165 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H12130-H12131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MINE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ACT
Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3877) to require the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology to establish an initiative to promote the
research, development, and demonstration of miner tracking and
communications systems and to promote the establishment of standards
regarding underground communications to protect miners in the United
States, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3877
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mine Communications
Technology Innovation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The failure of miner tracking and communications
devices or lack thereof in mines severely hampers rescue
efforts in the event of emergencies.
(2) Mines, particularly underground mines, have properties
that present unique technical challenges for the integration
of currently available tracking and communications systems.
These properties include the lack of a clear path or open air
which is required for radio signals and WiFi. Additionally,
because coal is an absorptive material, less than 10 percent
of the radio spectrum that is used above ground can be used
underground. A fraction of that (only about 1 percent) radio
spectrum is actually allocated for commercial communications
purposes. As a consequence, the availability of miner
communication equipment is severely limited.
(3) Research and experience have shown that communications
and tracking systems may not work equally well in every mine
or in every emergency situation, and therefore several
different systems may be necessary for development and
integration.
(4) Because of the serious challenges of the mine
environment and the limited market provided by the mining
industry, much needed technology has not yet been developed
by the private sector or is not commercially available in the
United States.
(5) Furthermore, due to the regulatory structure of the
industry and the lengthy approval process for mine tracking
and communications systems, research must be accelerated so
that next generation technology can be quickly and
efficiently integrated into mines to protect the safety of
miners.
(6) The National Institute of Standards and Technology is
well positioned to help accelerate the development of mining
tracking and communications technology. The National
Institute of Standards and Technology has a long history of
working in conjunction with industry to invest in longer-
term, high-risk research which yields national benefits far
beyond private payoff. Further, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology builds partnerships with industry to
leverage existing research and development to drive next
generation technology.
(7) The National Institute of Standards and Technology is
well-positioned to accelerate development of consensus mining
communications standards given the extensive work that the
organization has done in the field of emergency
communications to develop standards and technologies for
interoperable wireless telecommunications and information
systems.
(8) In developing such standards, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology should work in cooperation with the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the
Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other relevant
public and private stakeholders, to build on existing
technology and knowledge regarding mine communications
systems.
SEC. 3. MINE COMMUNICATIONS AND TRACKING RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.
(a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology shall provide for the
establishment of a program of research, development, and
demonstration that includes the establishment of best
practices, adaptation of existing technology, and efforts to
accelerate the development of next generation technology and
tracking systems for mine communications.
(b) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the
Director shall coordinate with relevant Federal agencies and
industry to evaluate areas of research and development and
best practices that will be most promising in protecting
miner safety.
(c) Optional Focus.--In establishing this program, the
Director may focus on the following communications and
tracking system characteristics:
(1) Systems that are likely to work in emergency
situations.
(2) Systems that work in coal mines, with special attention
paid to deep underground coal mines.
(3) Systems that provide coverage throughout all areas of
the mine.
(4) Hybrid systems that use both wireless and
infrastructure based systems.
(5) Functionality for 2-way and voice communications.
(6) Systems that serve emergency and routine communications
needs.
(7) The ability to work with existing legacy systems and to
be quickly integrated.
(8) Propagation environment characterization, performance
metrics, and independently derived validation tests to verify
performance for standards development.
SEC. 4. STANDARDS REGARDING UNDERGROUND COMMUNICATIONS.
Consistent with Office of Management and Budget Circular A-
119, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall work with industry and relevant Federal
agencies to develop consensus industry standards for
communications in underground mines. The Director shall also
develop and provide any needed measurement services to
support implementation of these standards. In their efforts
to help develop these standards and related measurement
services, the following issues should be addressed:
(1) The appropriate use of frequency bands and power
levels.
(2) Matters related to interoperability of systems,
applications, and devices.
(3) Technology to prevent interference.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology such sums
as are necessary for carrying out this Act for fiscal years
2009 and 2010, to be derived from amounts authorized under
section 3001 of the America COMPETES Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Matheson) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 3877, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I'm very pleased that this action is taking place
today on the floor of the House of Representatives. I represent the
Second Congressional District of Utah, and that includes the Crandall
Canyon Mine where this past August I think everyone in this country is
aware of the coal mining accident that occurred where six men were
trapped, and during the rescue attempt, three rescuers were killed in a
cave-in.
There were a lot of emotions that we all felt and shared during that
disaster; but beyond those emotions, I think something that must have
crossed all of our minds as we all watched this tragedy unfold was a
question, and that was, how is it as the rescuers tried to locate these
six trapped men that we can't know exactly where they are, that there
isn't some kind of signal or beacon or some way to communicate such
that we can have a better sense of exactly where the six men were
trapped?
I think that's a question that a lot of us have, and here in
Congress, as a
[[Page H12131]]
member of the House Science Committee, I asked those questions, and the
committee collectively, majority and minority, has looked at that
issue.
The answer really is that the technology doesn't exist today to
communicate in this manner between the surface and folks who are
trapped deep underground, and so the effort here and the purpose of
this legislation, it's a very narrow piece of legislation, looks at
encouraging development of technology that would allow this type of
communication to occur in the future.
The thing about this bill that I'm really proud of is the fact that
the committee worked so well together, and I really want to thank
Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall for their extraordinary effort
and also the staff, both majority and the minority, for working
together to move this bill in a rather quick manner and in a bipartisan
manner. Suggestions were taken from folks on both sides of the aisle,
and the bill that came out of the committee reflected those discussions
and deliberations among everyone involved in the committee.
So I think this is an example where Congress is passing good
legislation, a substantive piece of legislation. It's a piece of
legislation that is so important for the 1,400 underground mines we
have in this country and, quite frankly, the many thousands of
underground mines that exist around the world today, where this type of
technology, if it is developed, will allow better communication
capability and allow an opportunity for perhaps more success in rescue
operations.
Now, I want to be clear on a couple of things. The purpose of the
legislation is really to accelerate next-generation technology. The
legislation will direct the National Institute of Standards and
Technology to establish an initiative to promote research, development,
and demonstration of miner tracking and communication systems and to
promote the establishment of standards and other measurement services
regarding underground mines. I think the legislation will foster much-
needed research and development in this field of communications to
better protect miners.
The time to address this issue is now, before any more accidents
leave any additional miner families desperate for word about their
loved ones.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GINGREY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise also in support of H.R. 3877, the Mine
Communications Technology Innovation Act.
First, I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Gordon,
Ranking Member Hall, and all of the members of the Science Committee
and the staff who worked so hard to bring this important bipartisan
legislation through our committee and to the House floor today.
Madam Speaker, every Member of the House hopes to avoid another
catastrophe such as the Sago Mine explosion in West Virginia in 2006 or
the disaster at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah this past August. And
I certainly want to commend my colleague, the gentleman from Utah (Mr.
Matheson), for introducing H.R. 3877 to address one of the major
obstacles to miner safety, and that is, our inability, as he just
pointed out, to track miners underground and to communicate with them
in the event of such an emergency.
Under the 2006 MINER Act, the Mine Safety and Health Administration,
MSHA, and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety,
NIOSH, receive significant funding to lead an interagency program to
develop communication, tracking, oxygen supply and refuge systems for
mines. To date, this program has invested over $23 million, and it is
steadily progressing towards installation of new, safer communication
systems by the year 2009.
As NIOSH and MSHA continue to advance research and development in
this area, there was clear bipartisan agreement within the Science
Committee that the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
NIST, could enhance these efforts by fostering standards for
communication equipment in mines and development of those systems
through the creation of best practices, measurement services, and
research evaluation.
{time} 1645
NIST has long been a leader in communications research technology and
has the equipment, and it has the expertise to characterize the mine
environment and determine what techniques are best suited for these
very difficult situations and conditions.
This bill is the product of bipartisan work in the Science Committee,
and it creates a basic framework to ensure that the government's
research agency works cooperatively, effectively and quickly to improve
mine and miner safety.
The world-renowned capabilities of NIST laboratories and the years of
study and experience at NIOSH and MSHA can significantly improve
implementation of emergency communications and tracking systems in our
mines. Improvement in these systems will substantially increase
rescuers' ability to find and free miners in the event of a mine
catastrophe, as we just outlined, that occurred recently in West
Virginia and the great State of Utah.
H.R. 3877 would significantly contribute to the health and the safety
of miners by uniting the communications and standards experience of
NIST with the ongoing research and the mine environment experience at
NIOSH and MSHA.
I want to applaud my colleague, Mr. Matheson, for addressing this
issue that he knows so well that is of such utmost importance to his
constituents in Utah, as well as mining communities across this
country.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
It will make significant advancements in miner safety.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MATHESON. I thank my colleague. I also want to thank him for
making one additional really good point in his remarks, and that is
that this legislation is complementary with what we are trying to do at
NIOSH and MSHA.
Madam Speaker, Congress these days doesn't have the best reputation
of working together on certain things, but this is an example where
this committee worked really well in terms of coming up with
legislation, where bills were originally introduced, there were some
other questions during the committee process. Folks on the minority
side of the aisle offered suggestions for a manager's amendment. We
approved this bill. It has good bipartisan support. It's the right
thing to do.
I again want to thank Dr. Gingrey and everyone on the Science
Committee staff for their help in making this legislation work.
I will just close by saying that I visited the Crandall Canyon mine
families right after the disaster. They were going through so many
emotions that it's difficult for us to even imagine, but to not know
where their loved ones were was probably the greatest frustration of
all. If this legislation can provide a path to help provide answers to
those questions in the future, then, clearly, it's the right thing to
do.
I ask for a favorable vote from everybody on this legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California). The
question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr.
Matheson) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R.
3877, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A Bill to require the Director
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish an
initiative to promote the research, development, and demonstration of
miner tracking and communications systems and to promote the
establishment of standards and other measurement services regarding
underground communications to protect miners in the United States.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________