[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2097-S2099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WEST VIRGINIA COAL MINERS
Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, I rise to mark the tragic occasion of
the worst U.S. mining disaster in 40 years. A year ago today, 29 brave
and patriotic men went underground to mine the coal that powers our
great Nation. They didn't come back. Our entire Nation grieved with
their families for their tremendous loss. I rise to honor
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their courage, sacrifice, and the extraordinary strength of their
families.
I want to say a few words about the proud men and women today who go
underground and go unrecognized and make sure that our great Nation can
keep the lights on. When some people see a coal miner walk out from
underground, they see some someone who is tired, wearing dust-covered
overalls, steel boots, carrying a hard hat and a dinner bucket, and
they make a few flawed assumptions about the amount of education they
may or may not have or that they had nowhere else to turn, that was the
only job available. I wish everyone to know that those assumptions are
dead wrong.
West Virginia coal miners are the backbone of this country, providing
the power for the lights in this Chamber, the steel and the machinery
that built our country, the greatest industrial power in the world, the
military that keeps us safe and free, and the energy for homes and
businesses all over the country. West Virginia miners understand
geology, mathematics and physics, the way a seam runs through the Earth
and how to safely extract its bounty to make our country stronger.
Above all, West Virginia miners are the salt of the Earth--patriotic,
God-fearing, family loving and family oriented, and proud of their hard
work. In our State we have always done the heavy lifting. We are very
proud of what we have contributed to this country time and again--in
times of war, times of peace, in times of prosperity, and in times of
need. At a time when our Nation's attention and misplaced pity will
again focus on coal miners because of the first anniversary of the
worst mining disaster in the last 40 years, we West Virginians want the
world to know we are proud of our coal mining heritage and our future.
As West Virginia's former Governor, now U.S. Senator, I want to tell
Americans not only about our sacrifice but also our dedication to our
shared future. The miners of West Virginia and their families are the
heart and soul of West Virginia and an inspiration for me and my
family. We should all draw strength from the courage they have shown
us.
Allow me to turn to the terrible day a year ago. In remembering the
Upper Big Branch disaster, my thoughts turn first to the families of
the 29 miners who went to work that day on April 5, 2010, and didn't
come home. In the days following the violent explosion, which remains
under investigation today, I spent all day and every day for 5 days
waiting to find out with the families if their loved ones were alive or
dead. Those families and I stayed together at midnight and dawn,
through moments of hope and despair, on pins and needles in the early
days and in shared grief when the full scope of the devastation hit us
as the rescuers didn't find any more survivors. We prayed together
before and after each briefing. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance. We
held each other and cried together. Restaurant owners donated food. Our
own WVU coach Bob Huggins visited. And one young man, Nick Helms, whom
I remember so well, whose father was killed in the Sago mining disaster
in 2006, came down personally and offered his moral support from his
firsthand experiences.
In those days the unbreakable bonds of family became clear. One
family alone lost three good men. I first told Charles and Linda Davis,
the parents of Timmy and the grandparents of Cory and Josh. I told
Tommy--and Tommy was another brother who had worked in the mine and
just came off the shift. Tommy was the father of Cory. I also told
Patty--large families--and Patty is the daughter of Linda and Charles,
and she was Josh's mother. So in the mine we had Timmy, the uncle, and
we had Josh and Cory. All three men had been found, but they perished.
The first question I got from Tommy after I told his parents was: Were
they all together?
I said: Yes, they were.
Tommy replied: I knew my brother Timmy would be taking care of the
boys.
That was not my State's first mining disaster or mine. When I was a
young man, my only family went through the tragedy of the Farmington
No. 9 explosion in 1968. Seventy-eight miners were killed that day. It
left a searing impression on me. Of course, we didn't know right away
how bad it would get. Everyone camped out at the company store. We were
all waiting for any word before the authorities finally came and told
us all that the decision had been made to seal the mine which
essentially meant entombing all of them. In that disaster I lost my
uncle, my next-door neighbor, some of my high school classmates. One of
my strongest lessons that has stayed with me to this day is that
waiting families should be systematically updated on the progress of
the rescue operation. I know firsthand that a minute seems like an
hour, an hour seems like a day, and a day seems like eternity. With
consistent updates, waiting becomes a little more bearable.
During my term as Governor, in the three tragedies we went through--
Sago and Aracoma in 2006, and last year at Upper Big Branch--we briefed
the families every 2 hours. It was a cycle. We received a briefing from
our authorities, then we briefed the families, then we told the media.
It was a cycle we continued until the fate of all miners was known.
We have learned a lot in West Virginia. After disasters at Sago and
Aracoma, we enacted more safety measures in my term as Governor than in
the 30 years before. We have become a leader in safety, and what we are
implementing is being used across all types of mining, all over the
country and around the world. The bottom line is that in our State, we
won't tolerate intimidation from any person or company that puts
profits ahead of safety. I truly believe that the single most important
element in any mining operation is the men and women who work there
every day. Under my watch, we empowered those individual miners and
their families to take more ownership and control over their own safety
without fear of retribution, with a 24-hour anonymous hotline to report
unsafe conditions. Since May of last year we have had 86 calls. We
responded.
At the end of the day, though, the families, the people of West
Virginia and all Americans need to know how this tragedy happened and
what we must do to prevent anything this terrible from ever happening
again. We are still waiting for the results of the Federal and State
investigations as well as an independent report from my special
appointed investigator J. Davitt McAteer, a West Virginia native and
assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration under
President Bill Clinton. We will look at the results of their
investigation to determine what happened, make certain it doesn't
happen again, and determine whether anyone, through intimidation or
otherwise, put profits ahead of safety and that the people responsible
are held accountable.
In the meantime I am cosponsoring a piece of legislation with Senator
Jay Rockefeller, the Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and
Health Act of 2011. It is designed to improve compliance with existing
mine and occupational safety and health laws, empowering workers to
raise safety concerns, prevent future mine and other workplace
tragedies, and establish the rights of the families of victims of
workplace accidents. Last week I spoke again to Tommy Davis, the man
who lost his brother, his nephew, and his son at the Upper Big Branch
mine. When I asked him what he was doing these days, Tommy gave me a
simple answer: Joe, I am back in the mines. Tommy is proud to be a
miner. And while he and all of us have much to mourn today, we also
have the chance to honor the memories of the 29 dedicated men who died
a year ago and their colleagues who continue their work with respect
and dignity.
Finally, Gayle and I and all West Virginians pray for continued
strength and courage for the families who lost loved ones on this sad
day a year ago. May God bless each one of them. May God bless the great
State of West Virginia, and may God continue to bless the United States
of America.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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