[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 19036-19037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 77--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
       THAT A POSTAGE STAMP SHOULD BE ISSUED TO HONOR COAL MINERS

  Mr. McCONNELL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs:

                            S. Con. Res. 77

       Whereas the Nation is greatly indebted to coal miners for 
     the difficult and dangerous work they have performed to 
     provide the fuel needed to operate the Nation's industries 
     and to provide energy to homes and businesses;
       Whereas millions of workers have toiled in the Nation's 
     coal mines over the last century, risking both life and limb 
     to fuel the Nation's economic expansion;
       Whereas during the last century over 100,000 coal miners 
     have been killed in mining accidents in the Nation's coal 
     mines, and 3,500,000 coal miners have suffered non-fatal 
     injuries;
       Whereas 100,000 coal miners have contracted Black Lung 
     disease as a direct result of their toil in the Nation's coal 
     mines;
       Whereas coal provides 50 percent of the Nation's 
     electricity and is an essential fuel for industries such as 
     steel, cement, chemicals, food, and paper;
       Whereas the United States has a demonstrated coal reserve 
     of more than 500,000,000,000 tons, with an estimated 
     275,000,000,000 tons of recoverable reserves which, at 
     current production rates, represents about 275 years of 
     recoverable coal reserves;
       Whereas these coal reserves represent about 95 percent of 
     all fossil fuel reserves in the United States, and about \1/
     4\ of the world's known coal reserves;
       Whereas the recoverable coal reserves in the United States 
     have the energy equivalent of about 1,000,000,000,000 barrels 
     of oil,

[[Page 19037]]

     which is comparable to all of the world's known oil reserves;
       Whereas since the energy crises of the 1970s, United 
     States' dependence on foreign oil has grown substantially, 
     with imported oil accounting for 39 percent of all oil 
     consumed in 1973 and about 60 percent today;
       Whereas energy security is an integral component of the 
     Nation's economy and national security;
       Whereas coal mining continues to be the economic engine for 
     many communities, providing jobs to areas with little 
     economic diversity;
       Whereas coal mining provides economic benefit far beyond 
     its direct revenue, including billions of dollars in economic 
     output and household earnings and hundreds of thousands of 
     jobs in other industries; and
       Whereas issuing a postage stamp to honor the Nation's coal 
     miners is fitting and proper: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States Postal Service should issue a stamp 
     honoring the Nation's coal miners; and
       (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend 
     to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.

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