[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15156-15157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     THE MINERS AND SOMERSET COUNTY

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to speak about 
the gallant men, nine miners from Somerset County in my State of 
Pennsylvania, who went through a most extraordinary ordeal--77 hours 
trapped in a mine. The eyes and ears of the world were on Somerset 
County, people wondering if it was possible for men in an underground 
mine shaft, immersed in water reportedly 4 feet to 5 feet high, no 
food, no communication with the outside world--people wondered whether 
those men could survive. Almost in a miraculous way, finally, through 
the extraordinary efforts of Federal, State, and local rescuers, those 
nine men were rescued at 2:44 a.m. on Sunday, just yesterday. Their 
ordeal started on Wednesday, July 24, at 9 p.m., and ended on Sunday 
morning, July 28 at 2:44 a.m.
  People are in amazement around the world, at their successful 
rescues. It is very unusual, very odd to say the least, that a small 
county in western Pennsylvania, more than 50 miles southeast of 
Pittsburgh, would be the focus of so much international attention.
  Last September 11, as we all know, a flight crashed into Somerset, 
one of the four hijacked by terrorists on September 11, the flight 
widely believed to be headed to this building, the Capitol of the 
United States. No one can be sure--some have speculated it might have 
been headed to the White House--but the speculation was that the plane 
which crashed into the Pentagon was headed to the White House.
  In any event, Somerset County was the site of an international 
tragedy less than a year ago. It is more than lightning, but to have 
lightning, so to speak, strike twice in such a small county in western 
Pennsylvania is unusual. But this time, instead of tragedy, instead of 
the loss of lives, these men were rescued.
  In an era where there is so much bad news around the world, so much 
difficulty with terrorism around the world, the problems with the 
Palestinian terrorists against Israel, the grave difficulties between 
India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the differences and fighting between 
the North Koreans and South Koreans and all the problems of Africa--and 
that litany could be the subject of a lengthy conversation--to find a 
bright spot, find a success, find a rescue, is certainly more than a 
breath of fresh air for the entire world but especially, of course, for 
the miners who were involved: Mr. Randy Fogle, Mr. Harry Blaine 
Mayhugh, Mr. Thomas Foy, Mr. John Unger, Mr. John Phillippi, Mr. Ronald 
Hileman, Mr. Dennis Hall, Jr., Mr. Robert Pugh, and Mr. Mark Popernack.
  Representing Pennsylvania, as I have for some 22 years now, I have 
obviously been intimately connected with the issue of the coal miners, 
with some 30 billion tons of bituminous in western Pennsylvania and 7 
billion tons of anthracite in northeastern Pennsylvania and the mining 
industries being struggling industries, this industry has taken up a 
great deal of time--not only of mine, but of the entire Pennsylvania 
delegation, really beyond the Pennsylvania delegation.
  I have had occasion to go underground. I must say it is an eerie, 
desolate feeling to take one of those elevators down about 20 stories 
and then hunch over, in the miner's gear with a little light on your 
cap, and lean backwards in a rail car which moves several miles 
underground because you can't sit up straight, there isn't sufficient 
room. I have marveled at the courage and the tenacity of the miners who 
go into those deep mines, day after day after day, risking life and 
limb.
  There was a time not too long ago when a thousand miners a year were 
killed there. Fortunately, with mine safety, that situation has 
improved materially, but it is still a very risky line of work.
  I got through today to Mr. Ron Hileman who lives in Gray, PA, and 
talked to him about his experiences. As you might imagine, he is a real 
hero. When I said to Mr. Hileman that he was a hero, he dissented, but 
that is the way heroes are. They do not acknowledge being heroes.
  We talked about being in that enclosed area with 60 million gallons 
of water pouring in. A miner of 27 years with a wife and two children, 
of course, the joy in the Hileman family was overwhelming. Mr. Hileman 
expressed his own very deep gratitude.
  I asked him what had happened. I asked him if the maps might have 
foretold the problem.
  He said no because the maps did the best they could. But when other 
miners came in adjacent, as Mr. Hileman put it, some of the miners 
would snatch a little extra coal--go a little extra distance and go 
beyond the line which they had and into another area. Then, when the 
miners went down there last week, they ran into an old mine shaft. The 
old mine shaft had caused the enormous problem with the flooding.

[[Page 15157]]

  I want to pay tribute to Pennsylvania's Governor, Mark Schweicker, an 
international figure, a hero in his own right--and for good cause--on 
the job, persevering, leading Federal, State, and local officials, 
meeting with the families. I talked to him over the weekend and he was 
there, on the job, and certainly deserves the commendation, not only of 
Pennsylvania but the commendation of the Nation, the commendation of 
the world.
  This accident points up the need for greater concern for miners' 
safety as they are performing very important work, providing energy, 
providing coal, providing a resource in our effort to try to free 
ourselves from the dominance of OPEC oil. With progress in clean coal 
technology, as I have said on this floor on many occasions, the coal 
industry across America, Pennsylvania, West Virginia to Wyoming and 
beyond, could provide that alternative source of energy.
  When I look over what we have done on the subcommittee for the 
Department of Labor appropriations going back to September of 1981, 
there were efforts to reduce the mine surface inspections from twice a 
year to once a year. Many of us resisted, and that was stopped.
  We had a mining hearing August 1991 where there were operators who 
were tampering with coal mine dust devices. Then there have been 
efforts made to cut the Mine Safety and Health Administration 
repeatedly.
  This body, the U.S. Senate, and Senator Harkin, as ranking member in 
1995 when I took over the chairmanship, and now Senator Harkin as 
chairman, on a bipartisan approach has maintained the safety funding so 
that where there have been efforts to cut, we have resisted. We 
maintain the black lung clinics.
  I believe that this is a good day for the United States and the U.S. 
Senate to pay tribute to the coal miners of America for what they are 
doing for the Nation by providing needed energy for domestic purposes 
and also for national security.
  Especially thanks for the rescue of the nine mine workers; and we pay 
tribute to those men and their families and to the heroic rescuers led 
by Governor Schweiker that brought them to safety.
  I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, how much time remains on our side?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Seven minutes 43 seconds remaining.
  Mr. ENZI. Thank you. I have a more extensive speech, but I will limit 
my remarks so that the Senator from North Dakota will have his full 
time.

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