[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S224-S225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. 
        Manchin):
  S. 153. A bill to improve compliance with mine and occupational 
safety and health laws, empower workers to raise safety concerns, 
prevent future mine and other workplace tragedies, establish rights of 
families of victims of workplace accidents, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce the 
Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act of 2011. This 
legislation is identical to the bill I introduced last Congress with 
Senator Carte Goodwin and will afford miners in West Virginia and 
employees across the country the safest possible workplace, which is 
what they deserve. As I have mentioned before, this legislation is a 
tribute to all miners who have lost their lives and also to my dear 
friend and colleague, the late Senator Robert Byrd, who devoted his 
career to improving the working conditions of West Virginia's miners 
and worked diligently with me to develop this bill.
  I am also very pleased that Senators Tom Harkin, Patty Murray, and 
Joe Manchin are joining me in cosponsoring this legislation. Chairman 
Harkin and Senator Murray are strong advocates for America's workforce 
and worked closely with me to draft this bill. Their contributions and 
expertise on this issue are immeasurable. Senator Manchin and I also 
have a history of working together, when he was Governor, to improve 
the safety of West Virginia's mining community. We were there with the 
families after the Sago, Aracoma, and Upper Big Branch tragedies, and I 
know that he shares my commitment to keeping miners safe.
  I firmly believe that every American deserves a safe and healthy work 
environment. No family should have to experience the sadness and grief 
that is felt by the families of Upper Big Branch victims. Sadly, the 
Upper Big Branch families are still waiting. They are waiting for 
answers regarding this horrible tragedy. And, they are waiting for 
Congress to do even more to strengthen the mine safety laws of the 
land.
  The Upper Big Branch tragedy and several other high-profile workplace 
accidents around the country last year serve as stark reminders of the 
need to make sure that all workers can return home to their loved ones 
at the end of the day. Yet, these types of tragedies are far too 
common. Each year, thousands of employees die on the job and millions 
more are injured or become ill. These fatalities, injuries, and 
illnesses result not only in loss of life and quality of life, but also 
substantial costs for employers. It is in everyone's interest to 
improve the safety and health of America's workforce.
  I also know that improving the safety of our workforce will require 
hard work and dedication by everyone involved including state and 
federal officials, businesses, unions, employees, and safety experts. 
Here in the Senate, I am committed to working with my colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle--there is no question that we must work 
together to find real solutions that will save lives in mining and 
other industries in our country. I have no doubt that we will continue 
to learn more about the Upper Big Branch disaster as the investigations 
move forward. But I also know that there are several areas of the law 
that we can work to fix right now. These improvements will make us more 
proactive in identifying hazards before they become fatal, foster 
cooperation between employers and employees to keep everyone safe, 
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our regulators, and 
increase the accountability for those responsible for keeping our 
workforce safe.
  The Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act of 2011 
takes important steps to empower miners to report safety concerns and 
keep themselves and their coworkers safe. Specifically, it gives 
whistleblowers up to 180 days to file a complaint if they have been 
retaliated against, permits the assessment of punitive damages and 
criminal penalties against operators that retaliate against miners who 
report safety problems, makes sure that miners do not lose a paycheck 
when their mines are shut down for safety reasons, and allows miners to 
give private interviews to MSHA without the operator or union 
representative present, so that they can speak openly about 
investigations.
  Our legislation allows MSHA to be more effective and efficient in its 
enforcement of our mine safety laws, while also increasing 
accountability and making sure that the agency is doing everything in 
its power to keep miners safe. Importantly, it expands MSHA's authority 
to subpoena documents and testimony, seek injunctions to stop dangerous 
acts, and implement additional safety training at unsafe mines. It also 
creates an independent panel to determine MSHA's role in serious 
accidents, and requires that MSHA conduct its inspections in a way that 
protects every miner regardless of when the miner's shift occurs.
  Another key piece of this bill is the section that reforms the broken 
``pattern of violations'' process and requires MSHA to focus on 
rehabilitating unsafe mines. The original pattern of violations process 
was meant to allow MSHA to take additional action against mines that 
repeatedly violate our laws, but unfortunately it has never been 
effectively implemented. This bill requires unsafe mines to adopt 
safety plans, undergo additional safety inspections, and meet specific 
safety improvement benchmarks. To make sure that MSHA's pattern of 
violations criteria accurately identifies unsafe mines, the Government 
Accountability Office will evaluate the implementation of MSHA's new 
criteria.
  I know that Secretary Hilda Solis and Assistant Secretary Joe Main 
have made mine safety a priority, and I deeply appreciate their work. 
They are currently examining proposals to administratively change how 
the pattern of violations process is used, and I support them in those 
efforts. But ultimately, there is only so much that MSHA can do under 
existing statute, which is why I believe that Congress must address 
this matter legislatively.
  We also know that workplace disasters are not confined to the mining 
industry, which is why our bill provides important, protections for 
workers across all industries under the jurisdiction of the 
Occupational Safety and

[[Page S225]]

Health Administration. This legislation allows employees to refuse to 
perform unsafe life-threatening work, updates civil penalties that have 
not been increased in two decades, gives victims and their families a 
voice in the investigation and enforcement process, requires employers 
to immediately correct hazardous conditions in the workplace, and 
improves whistleblower protections for employees.
  With these common-sense reforms, we can keep workers safe on the job, 
while also reducing the costs associated with occupational injuries and 
illnesses. By doing so, we can save lives, help employers save money, 
improve productivity, and increase the competitiveness of our 
workforce.
  I hope that my colleagues will carefully consider this legislation 
and that we can work together on a bipartisan basis to pass meaningful 
mine and workplace safety legislation this Congress. After the Sago and 
Aracoma disasters, the Senate passed the MINER Act with strong 
bipartisan support. We showed then that we can get the job done, and I 
am confident that we can do it again.
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