[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10211-10222]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        MINE IMPROVEMENT AND NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT OF 2006

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2803) to amend the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 
of 1977 to improve the safety of mines and mining.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 2803

       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 Improvement and New 
     Emergency Response Act of 2006'' or the ``MINER Act''.

     SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

       Section 316 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 
     1977 (30 U.S.C. 876) is amended--
       (1) in the section heading by adding at the end the 
     following: ``and emergency response plans'';
       (2) by striking ``Telephone'' and inserting ``(a) In 
     General.--Telephone''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Accident Preparedness and Response.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each underground coal mine operator 
     shall carry out on a continuing basis a program to improve 
     accident preparedness and response at each mine.
       ``(2) Response and preparedness plan.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response 
     Act of 2006, each underground coal mine operator shall 
     develop and adopt a written accident response plan that 
     complies with this subsection with respect to each mine of 
     the operator, and periodically update such plans to reflect 
     changes in operations in the mine, advances in technology, or 
     other relevant

[[Page 10212]]

     considerations. Each such operator shall make the accident 
     response plan available to the miners and the miners' 
     representatives.
       ``(B) Plan requirements.--An accident response plan under 
     subparagraph (A) shall--
       ``(i) provide for the evacuation of all individuals 
     endangered by an emergency; and
       ``(ii) provide for the maintenance of individuals trapped 
     underground in the event that miners are not able to evacuate 
     the mine.
       ``(C) Plan approval.--The accident response plan under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be subject to review and approval by 
     the Secretary. In determining whether to approve a particular 
     plan the Secretary shall take into consideration all comments 
     submitted by miners or their representatives. Approved plans 
     shall--
       ``(i) afford miners a level of safety protection at least 
     consistent with the existing standards, including standards 
     mandated by law and regulation;
       ``(ii) reflect the most recent credible scientific 
     research;
       ``(iii) be technologically feasible, make use of current 
     commercially available technology, and account for the 
     specific physical characteristics of the mine; and
       ``(iv) reflect the improvements in mine safety gained from 
     experience under this Act and other worker safety and health 
     laws.
       ``(D) Plan review.--The accident response plan under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be reviewed periodically, but at least 
     every 6 months, by the Secretary. In such periodic reviews, 
     the Secretary shall consider all comments submitted by miners 
     or miners' representatives and intervening advancements in 
     science and technology that could be implemented to enhance 
     miners' ability to evacuate or otherwise survive in an 
     emergency.
       ``(E) Plan content-general requirements.--To be approved 
     under subparagraph (C), an accident response plan shall 
     include the following:
       ``(i) Post-accident communications.--The plan shall provide 
     for a redundant means of communication with the surface for 
     persons underground, such as secondary telephone or 
     equivalent two-way communication.
       ``(ii) Post-accident tracking.--Consistent with 
     commercially available technology and with the physical 
     constraints, if any, of the mine, the plan shall provide for 
     above ground personnel to determine the current, or 
     immediately pre-accident, location of all underground 
     personnel. Any system so utilized shall be functional, 
     reliable, and calculated to remain serviceable in a post-
     accident setting.
       ``(iii) Post-accident breathable air.--The plan shall 
     provide for--

       ``(I) emergency supplies of breathable air for individuals 
     trapped underground sufficient to maintain such individuals 
     for a sustained period of time;
       ``(II) in addition to the 2 hours of breathable air per 
     miner required by law under the emergency temporary standard 
     as of the day before the date of enactment of the Mine 
     Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, caches of 
     self-rescuers providing in the aggregate not less than 2 
     hours per miner to be kept in escapeways from the deepest 
     work area to the surface at a distance of no further than an 
     average miner could walk in 30 minutes;
       ``(III) a maintenance schedule for checking the reliability 
     of self rescuers, retiring older self-rescuers first, and 
     introducing new self-rescuer technology, such as units with 
     interchangeable air or oxygen cylinders not requiring doffing 
     to replenish airflow and units with supplies of greater than 
     60 minutes, as they are approved by the Administration and 
     become available on the market; and
       ``(IV) training for each miner in proper procedures for 
     donning self-rescuers, switching from one unit to another, 
     and ensuring a proper fit.

       ``(iv) Post-accident lifelines.--The plan shall provide for 
     the use of flame-resistant directional lifelines or 
     equivalent systems in escapeways to enable evacuation. The 
     flame-resistance requirement of this clause shall apply upon 
     the replacement of existing lifelines, or, in the case of 
     lifelines in working sections, upon the earlier of the 
     replacement of such lifelines or 3 years after the date of 
     enactment of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response 
     Act of 2006.
       ``(v) Training.--The plan shall provide a training program 
     for emergency procedures described in the plan which will not 
     diminish the requirements for mandatory health and safety 
     training currently required under section 115.
       ``(vi) Local coordination.--The plan shall set out 
     procedures for coordination and communication between the 
     operator, mine rescue teams, and local emergency response 
     personnel and make provisions for familiarizing local rescue 
     personnel with surface functions that may be required in the 
     course of mine rescue work.
       ``(F) Plan content-specific requirements.--
       ``(i) In general.--In addition to the content requirements 
     contained in subparagraph (E), and subject to the 
     considerations contained in subparagraph (C), the Secretary 
     may make additional plan requirements with respect to any of 
     the content matters.
       ``(ii) Post accident communications.--Not later than 3 
     years after the date of enactment of the Mine Improvement and 
     New Emergency Response Act of 2006, a plan shall, to be 
     approved, provide for post accident communication between 
     underground and surface personnel via a wireless two-way 
     medium, and provide for an electronic tracking system 
     permitting surface personnel to determine the location of any 
     persons trapped underground or set forth within the plan the 
     reasons such provisions can not be adopted. Where such plan 
     sets forth the reasons such provisions can not be adopted, 
     the plan shall also set forth the operator's alternative 
     means of compliance. Such alternative shall approximate, as 
     closely as possible, the degree of functional utility and 
     safety protection provided by the wireless two-way medium and 
     tracking system referred to in this subpart.
       ``(G) Plan dispute resolution.--
       ``(i) In general.--Any dispute between the Secretary and an 
     operator with respect to the content of the operator's plan 
     or any refusal by the Secretary to approve such a plan shall 
     be resolved on an expedited basis.
       ``(ii) Disputes.--In the event of a dispute or refusal 
     described in clause (i), the Secretary shall issue a citation 
     which shall be immediately referred to a Commission 
     Administrative Law Judge. The Secretary and the operator 
     shall submit all relevant material regarding the dispute to 
     the Administrative Law Judge within 15 days of the date of 
     the referral. The Administrative Law Judge shall render his 
     or her decision with respect to the plan content dispute 
     within 15 days of the receipt of the submission.
       ``(iii) Further appeals.--A party adversely affected by a 
     decision under clause (ii) may pursue all further available 
     appeal rights with respect to the citation involved, except 
     that inclusion of the disputed provision in the plan will not 
     be limited by such appeal unless such relief is requested by 
     the operator and permitted by the Administrative Law Judge.
       ``(H) Maintaining protections for miners.--Notwithstanding 
     any other provision of this Act, nothing in this section, and 
     no response and preparedness plan developed under this 
     section, shall be approved if it reduces the protection 
     afforded miners by an existing mandatory health or safety 
     standard.''.

     SEC. 3. INCIDENT COMMAND AND CONTROL.

       Title I of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
     (30 U.S.C. 811 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 116. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN LIABILITY FOR RESCUE 
                   OPERATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--No person shall bring an action against 
     any covered individual or his or her regular employer for 
     property damage or an injury (or death) sustained as a result 
     of carrying out activities relating to mine accident rescue 
     or recovery operations. This subsection shall not apply where 
     the action that is alleged to result in the property damages 
     or injury (or death) was the result of gross negligence, 
     reckless conduct, or illegal conduct or, where the regular 
     employer (as such term is used in this Act) is the operator 
     of the mine at which the rescue activity takes place. Nothing 
     in this section shall be construed to preempt State workers' 
     compensation laws.
       ``(b) Covered Individual.--For purposes of subsection (a), 
     the term `covered individual' means an individual--
       ``(1) who is a member of a mine rescue team or who is 
     otherwise a volunteer with respect to a mine accident; and
       ``(2) who is carrying out activities relating to mine 
     accident rescue or recovery operations.
       ``(c) Regular Employer.--For purposes of subsection (a), 
     the term `regular employer' means the entity that is the 
     covered employee's legal or statutory employer pursuant to 
     applicable State law.''.

     SEC. 4. MINE RESCUE TEAMS.

       Section 115(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 
     1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after the subsection designation; 
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2)(A) The Secretary shall issue regulations with regard 
     to mine rescue teams which shall be finalized and in effect 
     not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the 
     Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.
       ``(B) Such regulations shall provide for the following:
       ``(i) That such regulations shall not be construed to waive 
     operator training requirements applicable to existing mine 
     rescue teams.
       ``(ii) That the Mine Safety and Health Administration shall 
     establish, and update every 5 years thereafter, criteria to 
     certify the qualifications of mine rescue teams.
       ``(iii)(I) That the operator of each underground coal mine 
     with more than 36 employees--
       ``(aa) have an employee knowledgeable in mine emergency 
     response who is employed at the mine on each shift at each 
     underground mine; and
       ``(bb) make available two certified mine rescue teams whose 
     members--
       ``(AA) are familiar with the operations of such coal mine;
       ``(BB) participate at least annually in two local mine 
     rescue contests;

[[Page 10213]]

       ``(CC) participate at least annually in mine rescue 
     training at the underground coal mine covered by the mine 
     rescue team; and
       ``(DD) are available at the mine within one hour ground 
     travel time from the mine rescue station.
       ``(II)(aa) For the purpose of complying with subclause (I), 
     an operator shall employ one team that is either an 
     individual mine site mine rescue team or a composite team as 
     provided for in item (bb)(BB).
       ``(bb) The following options may be used by an operator to 
     comply with the requirements of item (aa):
       ``(AA) An individual mine-site mine rescue team.
       ``(BB) A multi-employer composite team that is made up of 
     team members who are knowledgeable about the operations and 
     ventilation of the covered mines and who train on a semi-
     annual basis at the covered underground coal mine--
       ``(aaa) which provides coverage for multiple operators that 
     have team members which include at least two active employees 
     from each of the covered mines;
       ``(bbb) which provides coverage for multiple mines owned by 
     the same operator which members include at least two active 
     employees from each mine; or
       ``(ccc) which is a State-sponsored mine rescue team 
     comprised of at least two active employees from each of the 
     covered mines.
       ``(CC) A commercial mine rescue team provided by contract 
     through a third-party vendor or mine rescue team provided by 
     another coal company, if such team--
       ``(aaa) trains on a quarterly basis at covered underground 
     coal mines;
       ``(bbb) is knowledgeable about the operations and 
     ventilation of the covered mines; and
       ``(ccc) is comprised of individuals with a minimum of 3 
     years underground coal mine experience that shall have 
     occurred within the 10-year period preceding their employment 
     on the contract mine rescue team.
       ``(DD) A State-sponsored team made up of State employees.
       ``(iv) That the operator of each underground coal mine with 
     36 or less employees shall--
       ``(I) have an employee on each shift who is knowledgeable 
     in mine emergency responses; and
       ``(II) make available two certified mine rescue teams whose 
     members--
       ``(aa) are familiar with the operations of such coal mine;
       ``(bb) participate at least annually in two local mine 
     rescue contests;
       ``(cc) participate at least semi-annually in mine rescue 
     training at the underground coal mine covered by the mine 
     rescue team;
       ``(dd) are available at the mine within one hour ground 
     travel time from the mine rescue station;
       ``(ee) are knowledgeable about the operations and 
     ventilation of the covered mines; and
       ``(ff) are comprised of individuals with a minimum of 3 
     years underground coal mine experience that shall have 
     occurred within the 10-year period preceding their employment 
     on the contract mine rescue team.''.

     SEC. 5. PROMPT INCIDENT NOTIFICATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 103(j) of the Federal Mine Safety 
     and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 813(j)) is amended by 
     inserting after the first sentence the following: ``For 
     purposes of the preceding sentence, the notification required 
     shall be provided by the operator within 15 minutes of the 
     time at which the operator realizes that the death of an 
     individual at the mine, or an injury or entrapment of an 
     individual at the mine which has a reasonable potential to 
     cause death, has occurred.''.
       (b) Penalty.--Section 110(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and 
     Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``The operator'' and inserting ``(1) The 
     operator''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) The operator of a coal or other mine who fails to 
     provide timely notification to the Secretary as required 
     under section 103(j) (relating to the 15 minute requirement) 
     shall be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not 
     less than $5,000 and not more than $60,000.''.

     SEC. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND 
                   HEALTH.

       (a) Grants.--Section 22 of the Occupational Safety and 
     Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 671) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(h) Office of Mine Safety and Health.--
       ``(1) In general.--There shall be permanently established 
     within the Institute an Office of Mine Safety and Health 
     which shall be administered by an Associate Director to be 
     appointed by the Director.
       ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Office is to enhance the 
     development of new mine safety technology and technological 
     applications and to expedite the commercial availability and 
     implementation of such technology in mining environments.
       ``(3) Functions.--In addition to all purposes and 
     authorities provided for under this section, the Office of 
     Mine Safety and Health shall be responsible for research, 
     development, and testing of new technologies and equipment 
     designed to enhance mine safety and health. To carry out such 
     functions the Director of the Institute, acting through the 
     Office, shall have the authority to--
       ``(A) award competitive grants to institutions and private 
     entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine 
     safety equipment;
       ``(B) award contracts to educational institutions or 
     private laboratories for the performance of product testing 
     or related work with respect to new mine technology and 
     equipment; and
       ``(C) establish an interagency working group as provided 
     for in paragraph (5).
       ``(4) Grant authority.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
     under the authority provided for under paragraph (3)(A), an 
     entity or institution shall--
       ``(A) submit to the Director of the Institute an 
     application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
     information as the Director may require; and
       ``(B) include in the application under subparagraph (A), a 
     description of the mine safety equipment to be developed and 
     manufactured under the grant and a description of the reasons 
     that such equipment would otherwise not be developed or 
     manufactured, including reasons relating to the limited 
     potential commercial market for such equipment.
       ``(5) Interagency working group.--
       ``(A) Establishment.--The Director of the Institute, in 
     carrying out paragraph (3)(D) shall establish an interagency 
     working group to share technology and technological research 
     and developments that could be utilized to enhance mine 
     safety and accident response.
       ``(B) Membership.--The working group under subparagraph (A) 
     shall be chaired by the Associate Director of the Office who 
     shall appoint the members of the working group, which may 
     include representatives of other Federal agencies or 
     departments as determined appropriate by the Associate 
     Director.
       ``(C) Duties.--The working group under subparagraph (A) 
     shall conduct an evaluation of research conducted by, and the 
     technological developments of, agencies and departments who 
     are represented on the working group that may have 
     applicability to mine safety and accident response and make 
     recommendations to the Director for the further development 
     and eventual implementation of such technology.
       ``(6) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     establishment of the Office under this subsection, and 
     annually thereafter, the Director of the Institute shall 
     submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
     Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the 
     Workforce of the House of Representatives a report that, with 
     respect to the year involved, describes the new mine safety 
     technologies and equipment that have been studied, tested, 
     and certified for use, and with respect to those instances of 
     technologies and equipment that have been considered but not 
     yet certified for use, the reasons therefore.
       ``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to enable 
     the Institute and the Office of Mine Safety and Health to 
     carry out this subsection.''.

     SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT CONCERNING FAMILY LIAISONS.

       The Secretary of Labor shall establish a policy that--
       (1) requires the temporary assignment of an individual 
     Department of Labor official to be a liaison between the 
     Department and the families of victims of mine tragedies 
     involving multiple deaths;
       (2) requires the Mine Safety and Health Administration to 
     be as responsive as possible to requests from the families of 
     mine accident victims for information relating to mine 
     accidents; and
       (3) requires that in such accidents, that the Mine Safety 
     and Health Administration shall serve as the primary 
     communicator with the operator, miners' families, the press 
     and the public.

     SEC. 8. PENALTIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 110 of the Federal Mine Safety and 
     Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after the subsection designation; 
     and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Any operator who willfully violates a mandatory 
     health or safety standard, or knowingly violates or fails or 
     refuses to comply with any order issued under section 104 and 
     section 107, or any order incorporated in a final decision 
     issued under this title, except an order incorporated in a 
     decision under paragraph (1) or section 105(c), shall, upon 
     conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $250,000, 
     or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both, 
     except that if the conviction is for a violation committed 
     after the first conviction of such operator under this Act, 
     punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $500,000, or 
     by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
       ``(3)(A) The minimum penalty for any citation or order 
     issued under section 104(d)(1) shall be $2,000.
       ``(B) The minimum penalty for any order issued under 
     section 104(d)(2) shall be $4,000.

[[Page 10214]]

       ``(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
     prevent an operator from obtaining a review, in accordance 
     with section 106, of an order imposing a penalty described in 
     this subsection. If a court, in making such review, sustains 
     the order, the court shall apply at least the minimum 
     penalties required under this subsection.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the following: 
     ``Violations under this section that are deemed to be 
     flagrant may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than 
     $220,000. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 
     `flagrant' with respect to a violation means a reckless or 
     repeated failure to make reasonable efforts to eliminate a 
     known violation of a mandatory health or safety standard that 
     substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably could 
     have been expected to cause, death or serious bodily 
     injury.''.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than December 30, 2006, the 
     Secretary of Labor shall promulgate final regulations with 
     respect to penalties.

     SEC. 9. FINE COLLECTIONS.

       Section 108(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health 
     Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 818(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting 
     before the comma, the following: ``, or fails or refuses to 
     comply with any order or decision, including a civil penalty 
     assessment order, that is issued under this Act''.

     SEC. 10. SEALING OF ABANDONED AREAS.

       Not later than 18 months after the issuance by the Mine 
     Safety and Health Administration of a final report on the 
     Sago Mine accident or the date of enactment of the Mine 
     Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, whichever 
     occurs earlier, the Secretary of Labor shall finalize 
     mandatory heath and safety standards relating to the sealing 
     of abandoned areas in underground coal mines. Such health and 
     safety standards shall provide for an increase in the 20 psi 
     standard currently set forth in section 75.335(a)(2) of title 
     30, Code of Federal Regulations.

     SEC. 11. TECHNICAL STUDY PANEL.

       Title V of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
     (30 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 514. TECHNICAL STUDY PANEL.

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established a Technical 
     Study Panel (referred to in this section as the `Panel') 
     which shall provide independent scientific and engineering 
     review and recommendations with respect to the utilization of 
     belt air and the composition and fire retardant properties of 
     belt materials in underground coal mining.
       ``(b) Membership.--The Panel shall be composed of--
       ``(1) two individuals to be appointed by the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director 
     of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
     and the Associate Director of the Office of Mine Safety;
       ``(2) two individuals to be appointed by the Secretary of 
     Labor, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Mine 
     Safety and Health; and
       ``(3) two individuals, one to be appointed jointly by the 
     majority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives 
     and one to be appointed jointly by the minority leader of the 
     Senate and House of Representatives, each to be appointed 
     prior to the sine die adjournment of the second session of 
     the 109th Congress.
       ``(c) Qualifications.--Four of the six individuals 
     appointed to the Panel under subsection (b) shall possess a 
     masters or doctoral level degree in mining engineering or 
     another scientific field demonstrably related to the subject 
     of the report. No individual appointed to the Panel shall be 
     an employee of any coal or other mine, or of any labor 
     organization, or of any State or Federal agency primarily 
     responsible for regulating the mining industry.
       ``(d) Report.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
     which all members of the Panel are appointed under subsection 
     (b), the Panel shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of 
     Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
     Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 
     the House of Representatives a report concerning the 
     utilization of belt air and the composition and fire 
     retardant properties of belt materials in underground coal 
     mining.
       ``(2) Response by secretary.--Not later than 180 days after 
     the receipt of the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
     of Labor shall provide a response to the Committee on Health, 
     Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
     Representatives containing a description of the actions, if 
     any, that the Secretary intends to take based upon the 
     report, including proposing regulatory changes, and the 
     reasons for such actions.
       ``(e) Compensation.--Members appointed to the panel, while 
     carrying out the duties of the Panel shall be entitled to 
     receive compensation, per diem in lieu of subsistence, and 
     travel expenses in the same manner and under the same 
     conditions as that prescribed under section 208(c) of the 
     Public Health Service Act.''.

     SEC. 12. SCHOLARSHIPS.

       Title V of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
     (30 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), as amended by section 11, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 515. SCHOLARSHIPS.

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Education (referred 
     to in this section as the `Secretary'), in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, shall establish a program to provide scholarships 
     to eligible individuals to increase the skilled workforce for 
     both private sector coal mine operators and mine safety 
     inspectors and other regulatory personnel for the Mine Safety 
     and Health Administration.
       ``(b) Fundamental Skills Scholarships.--
       ``(1) In general.--Under the program under subsection (a), 
     the Secretary may award scholarship to fully or partially pay 
     the tuition costs of eligible individuals enrolled in 2-year 
     associate's degree programs at community colleges or other 
     colleges and universities that focus on providing the 
     fundamental skills and training that is of immediate use to a 
     beginning coal miner.
       ``(2) Skills.--The skills described in paragraph (1) shall 
     include basic math, basic health and safety, business 
     principles, management and supervisory skills, skills related 
     to electric circuitry, skills related to heavy equipment 
     operations, and skills related to communications.
       ``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship 
     under this subsection an individual shall--
       ``(A) have a high school diploma or a GED;
       ``(B) have at least 2 years experience in full-time 
     employment in mining or mining-related activities;
       ``(C) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
     in such manner, and containing such information; and
       ``(D) demonstrate an interest in working in the field of 
     mining and performing an internship with the Mine Safety and 
     Health Administration or the National Institute for 
     Occupational Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety.
       ``(c) Mine Safety Inspector Scholarships.--
       ``(1) In general.--Under the program under subsection (a), 
     the Secretary may award scholarship to fully or partially pay 
     the tuition costs of eligible individuals enrolled in 
     undergraduate bachelor's degree programs at accredited 
     colleges or universities that provide the skills needed to 
     become mine safety inspectors.
       ``(2) Skills.--The skills described in paragraph (1) 
     include skills developed through programs leading to a degree 
     in mining engineering, civil engineering, mechanical 
     engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, 
     environmental engineering, industrial hygiene, occupational 
     health and safety, geology, chemistry, or other fields of 
     study related to mine safety and health work.
       ``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship 
     under this subsection an individual shall--
       ``(A) have a high school diploma or a GED;
       ``(B) have at least 5 years experience in full-time 
     employment in mining or mining-related activities;
       ``(C) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
     in such manner, and containing such information; and
       ``(D) agree to be employed for a period of at least 5 years 
     at the Mine Safety and Health Administration or, to repay, on 
     a pro-rated basis, the funds received under this program, 
     plus interest, at a rate established by the Secretary upon 
     the issuance of the scholarship.
       ``(d) Advanced Research Scholarships.--
       ``(1) In general.--Under the program under subsection (a), 
     the Secretary may award scholarships to fully or partially 
     pay the tuition costs of eligible individuals enrolled in 
     undergraduate bachelor's degree, masters degree, and Ph.D. 
     degree programs at accredited colleges or universities that 
     provide the skills needed to augment and advance research in 
     mine safety and to broaden, improve, and expand the universe 
     of candidates for mine safety inspector and other regulatory 
     positions in the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
       ``(2) Skills.--The skills described in paragraph (1) 
     include skills developed through programs leading to a degree 
     in mining engineering, civil engineering, mechanical 
     engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, 
     environmental engineering, industrial hygiene, occupational 
     health and safety, geology, chemistry, or other fields of 
     study related to mine safety and health work.
       ``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a scholarship 
     under this subsection an individual shall--
       ``(A) have a bachelor's degree or equivalent from an 
     accredited 4-year institution;
       ``(B) have at least 5 years experience in full-time 
     employment in underground mining or mining-related 
     activities; and
       ``(C) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
     in such manner, and containing such information.
       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
     to carry out this section.''.

[[Page 10215]]



     SEC. 13. RESEARCH CONCERNING REFUGE ALTERNATIVES.

       (a) In General.--The National Institute of Occupational 
     Safety and Health shall provide for the conduct of research, 
     including field tests, concerning the utility, practicality, 
     survivability, and cost of various refuge alternatives in an 
     underground coal mine environment, including commercially-
     available portable refuge chambers.
       (b) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the National Institute for 
     Occupational Safety and Health shall prepare and submit to 
     the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
     Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and 
     the Workforce of the House of Representatives a report 
     concerning the results of the research conducted under 
     subsection (a), including any field tests.
       (2) Response by secretary.--Not later than 180 days after 
     the receipt of the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
     of Labor shall provide a response to the Committee on Health, 
     Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
     Representatives containing a description of the actions, if 
     any, that the Secretary intends to take based upon the 
     report, including proposing regulatory changes, and the 
     reasons for such actions.

     SEC. 14. BROOKWOOD-SAGO MINE SAFETY GRANTS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor shall establish a 
     program to award competitive grants for education and 
     training, to be known as Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants, 
     to carry out the purposes of this section.
       (b) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this section, to 
     provide for the funding of education and training programs to 
     better identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe working conditions 
     in and around mines.
       (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this section, an entity shall--
       (1) be a public or private nonprofit entity; and
       (2) submit to the Secretary of Labor an application at such 
     time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
     Secretary may require.
       (d) Use of Funds.--Amounts received under a grant under 
     this section shall be used to establish and implement 
     education and training programs, or to develop training 
     materials for employers and miners, concerning safety and 
     health topics in mines, as determined appropriate by the Mine 
     Safety and Health Administration.
       (e) Awarding of Grants.--
       (1) Annual basis.--Grants under this section shall be 
     awarded on an annual basis.
       (2) Special emphasis.--In awarding grants under this 
     section, the Secretary of Labor shall give special emphasis 
     to programs and materials that target workers in smaller 
     mines, including training miners and employers about new Mine 
     Safety and Health Administration standards, high risk 
     activities, or hazards identified by such Administration.
       (3) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Secretary of Labor shall give priority to the funding of 
     pilot and demonstration projects that the Secretary 
     determines will provide opportunities for broad applicability 
     for mine safety.
       (f) Evaluation.--The Secretary of Labor shall use not less 
     than 1 percent of the funds made available to carry out this 
     section in a fiscal year to conduct evaluations of the 
     projects funded under grants under this section.
       (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated for each fiscal year, such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out this section.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McKeon) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George 
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
S. 2803.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2803, the Mine Improvement and 
New Emergency Response Act, or the MINER Act. Though the number of 
mining fatalities and injuries reached record lows in 2005, this year's 
tragedies at the Sago mine in West Virginia and the others that have 
followed have served to bring the issue of mine health and safety into 
much sharper focus.
  Today, after unnecessarily waiting for 2 weeks, the House is finally 
poised to act. My colleagues, let us not squander this unique 
opportunity to send comprehensive mine safety reforms to President Bush 
for his signature.
  Throughout 2006, the Education and the Workforce Committee has held a 
series of oversight hearings and briefings during which we heard from 
Federal mine safety officials, mine workers, representatives from the 
mining industry and Members of the House. These oversight proceedings 
pointed toward a very clear need for better communications technology, 
modernized safety practices within U.S. mines and strengthening the 
enforcement of current mine safety laws.

                              {time}  1345

  Each of these needs is addressed comprehensively by the MINER Act, 
which was passed last month by the Senate without a single voice in 
opposition.
  In addition to universal bipartisan support in the Senate, this 
legislation enjoys strong support in its current form from the United 
Mine Workers of America, the National Mining Association, and a 
bipartisan group of House Members from key mining States, including 
Kentucky and West Virginia.
  In short, this is an issue that has cut across party lines, enjoys 
rare support from both labor and industry, and deserves overwhelming 
support from the House when we vote on the measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the way our committee, and Workforce 
Protections Subcommittee Chairman Norwood, in particular, has 
deliberately and thoughtfully considered ways to enhance the safety of 
America's miners. Because of our panel's thorough series of hearings 
and briefings, we are poised to take an important step today toward 
modernizing mine safety law for the first time in a generation.
  I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, in 
particular, Mr. Norwood, Mrs. Capito and Mr. Rogers, as well as the 
entire West Virginia and Kentucky delegations for assisting our 
committee in this effort.
  Our Nation's miners and their families will be better off for it. I 
ask my colleagues to join me in the ever-growing chorus of supporters 
in backing the MINER Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 8 
minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, as Members are aware, I have spoken out forcefully on 
the need for rapid Federal action to address mine safety. I have urged 
this Congress to legislate, to push us toward a new era in which the 
technology that has helped revitalize the productivity of the mining 
industry would also be used to save the lives and limbs of our miners.
  Unfortunately, the bill sent from the Senate fails to make the 
reforms that go to the very heart of what happened in the Sago mine 
disaster. It fails in three significant ways. It does not guarantee 
that miners trapped underground will have enough air to survive an 
accident like Sago. It does not give miners prompt access to wireless 
communications and electronic tracking devices so they can communicate 
with their rescuers instead of having to bang on pipes and bang on 
rocks like miners did hundreds of years ago.
  It does not guarantee that the emergency oxygen units like the ones 
that Randal McCloy, the only Sago survivor, told us in some cases were 
defective, and would be tested at random by the Federal Government to 
ensure that they work properly.
  In other words, if another Sago mine disaster were to happen, this 
bill does not ensure that we would not have the same tragic deaths, 
because it does not address what killed the miners in the Sago mine 
disaster.
  I want to remind Members that 11 of the 12 miners that died at Sago 
did not die from the initial explosion. They died because they did not 
have communication tools to lead them to safety; they died because they 
did not have an oxygen supply to last the 40 hours that they were 
trapped.
  I cannot, in good conscience, support a bill if passed that would not 
prevent another Sago, when we understand the tragedy that took place 
there.
  When it comes to the safety of miners, and thousands of miners and 
families across the Nation, the House can

[[Page 10216]]

do better than take-it-or-leave-it legislation that fails to provide 
that margin of safety that these families are entitled to.
  In the last 10 days, there have been two significant developments 
that demonstrate that we can and we must do better than the Senate 
bill. Last week, the Industry Labor Mine Technology Panel appointed by 
Governor Manchin of West Virginia composed of equal numbers of industry 
and miner representatives, concluded that there were significant 
enhancements to miner safety that could be achieved through wide 
application of existing technologies and techniques.
  Then this industry labor report makes two recommendations that go to 
the heart of the matter: that emergency shelters and chambers shall 
provide a minimum of 48 hours of breathable air and in no later than 15 
months mine operators will have to submit a communications and tracking 
plan for approval.
  That is all that the amendments that I have offered suggest that we 
do, i.e., what is now accepted in the mining industry in the State of 
West Virginia. Now, someone explain this to me: the coal mine industry 
in West Virginia agrees with the West Virginia miners that there should 
be a guaranteed 48 hours of breathable air in a crisis, but the 
Congress of the United States refuses to provide that same promise to 
miners across the country.
  The coal mining industry in West Virginia agrees that miners should 
have prompt access to wireless communications and electronic tracking 
devices, but the Congress of the United States refuses to provide that 
same promise to miners across this Nation.
  And here is another development. A few weeks ago, the Illinois 
legislature sent far-reaching mine safety legislation to the Governor's 
desk. It passed 111-0. It passed the Senate 57-1.
  The IL bill has two critical reforms, emergency mine chambers with 48 
hours of air and rapid installation of wireless communications by the 
end of the year. The State of Illinois can promise no more Sago 
tragedies.
  The coal mining industry in West Virginia can make that promise, but 
the U.S. House is being asked to ignore all of that evidence, all of 
those improvements, and rubber stamp a Senate bill with no opportunity 
to improve it.
  That is wrong, and we should not stand for it. I have spent a great 
deal of time over the last few months listening to what those Sago 
families have to tell us. I have listened to their very specific and 
very reasonable recommendations.
  I listened to Mrs. Debbie Hamner, who lost her husband, Junior, in 
the Sago tragedy. As many of you know, only one of the twelve miners 
who died in that tragedy was killed by the explosion. The rest died of 
carbon monoxide poisoning. Junior Hamner was one of those who died in 
that manner. And Mrs. Hamner asked why were they not equipped with 
enough oxygen. Why did we not require air supplies to be stored in the 
mine sections that they were working?
  Why do Canadian miners have greater protections than the miners of 
West Virginia or miners elsewhere in the United States? That is what 
she wanted to know. And Debbie said, sadly the bill before us today 
does not even mandate a minimum air supply for miners trapped 
underground, let alone require a refuge stocked with air, food and 
water, so that miners would not have to do what they did in Sago when 
they were trapped, which was to construct a barrier and bang on rocks 
and hope for the very best.
  Amber Helms, whose father, Terry, died at Sago, pointed out to us 
that the miners were still alive after the Sago explosion. The men 
tried to walk out. The mine foreman tried to walk toward them. But 
although they ended up only a few hundred yards apart, the foreman did 
not know where they were and was not able to tell them where they could 
find good air or a safe way that they could walk out.
  It is ridiculous, Amber told us, that I can get a computer and I can 
make a full Web page in an hour, but they cannot find my dad, and they 
cannot track him. It turns out that Amber was right, that devices are 
available in the market right now to track the location of these 
miners. These devices are available, and they should be used and they 
should be used soon.
  Last month, the sole survivor of the Sago mine accident, Mr. Randal 
McCloy, wrote a letter to the families of those who did not survive 
that mining disaster. Mr. McCloy stated that a number of the self-
contained rescue units that were issued for their protection failed to 
operate.
  The final amendment that I chose to offer to this legislation would 
make sure that we would have random inspections of those devices so 
those miners could have reliability if another tragedy should hit.
  We understand that the needs are here, and that is why I am telling 
you that this legislation is not complete. We should not be taking it 
on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. The House should have the opportunity 
to debate. Apparently we are not too busy today for we were going to do 
this at 6 o'clock and now we are doing this at 2 o'clock. We could have 
had an hours debate. We could have offered some amendments, voted them 
up or down, and we then could have moved on about our way.
  But we have chosen instead to close out these concerns of these 
miners and these families. We have chosen to close out what we have now 
learned about the technology. We have chosen to close out the 
agreements that the mining industry and the miners have reached in some 
States but not in all States, and we have chosen, worst of all, not to 
mitigate and protect and provide a margin of safety to those miners, 
should we have a repeat of the Sago mine disaster.
  We know Sago happened. We know why the miners were killed, and we 
know what we can do to prevent it. It is within our grasp. It is 
inexpensive and it is readily available. But in the Senate bill it is 
not required for another 3 years.
  In the Senate bill, we do not specify a minimum of 48 hours of 
oxygen, as West Virginia has started to specify and as the State of 
Illinois has specified. So this is not about being way out on the 
cutting edge and trying to destroy a bill or kill a bill or any of the 
rest of that. This is about spending time with these families and 
seeing that grief and having to try and answer the questions that they 
ask, no longer on behalf of their husbands, their brothers, their 
uncles, no longer on their own behalf, but on behalf of the other 
mining families in their communities, and the other mining families in 
other States that are not addressing this situation.
  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that my colleagues would vote against the 
suspension of the rules under this act, and that we would be able to 
take this legislation up, offer these amendments, win, lose or draw. At 
least then we could have said that we made the last best effort to 
provide immediate security, immediate remedy to the failures that led 
to the loss of life in these mine disasters.
  It is well documented, the problems and the impacts and the 
fatalities that were created by those shortcomings. The Senate bill 
simply does not address those.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand Mr. Miller's comments. I agree with much of 
what he says. It would be nice to have some of the issues that he has 
talked about. Also, Chairman Norwood, the subcommittee chairman, had 
other things that he wanted to put in the bill to make it better.
  But as my former chairman, now our majority leader, Mr. Boehner, has 
said many times, we have to guard against making the perfect the enemy 
of the good. And we have been given a unique opportunity by a bill 
passed by the Senate unanimously to move forward to help mine worker 
safety at this time.
  And rather than continue to talk this matter to death, and to 
continue to delay bringing safety to these miners, we should take this 
opportunity and pass this bill today.
  I would like to introduce into the Record the letter from the United

[[Page 10217]]

Mine Workers of America. ``The United States Senate unanimously passed 
legislation that is aimed at improving miner safety and offering miners 
a fighting chance of survival in the event of a mine emergency. Senate 
bill 2803,'' which we are talking about, ``the MINER Act, was a 
bipartisan bill that every Member of the Senate, Republican and 
Democrat alike, recognized would begin to offer better protection to 
miners. Indeed, this bill represents the first overhaul of the Nation's 
mining laws since the adoption of the 1977 Federal Mine and Safety 
Act,'' and he encourages all Members to vote for this bill today.
  I would like to say that I have asked Chairman Norwood to continue to 
work to improve and bring other improvements to the floor, but I 
encourage all of our Members to support this bill today, to get it to 
the President's desk, to do what we can immediately to help protect 
miner safety.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to 
the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by commending the gentleman from California 
for his over three decades of work in this body on behalf of our coal 
miners and our working men and women of this country. I salute his 
dedication and his career that he has built in helping improve those 
conditions.
  Mr. Speaker, myself, speaking on behalf of myself, I will take a back 
seat, however, to no Member of this body in regard to standing up for 
our coal miners, standing up for their fair health and safety 
conditions, and standing up for pneumoconiosis benefits, over my entire 
career here as well.
  This has been a dark, mournful year for our Nation's coal miners. 
Thirty-three deaths, 33 lives lost by decent hardworking men who have 
placed their trust in a mine safety system that failed them. Today the 
clouds begin to part. The mine tragedies of this year resulted from 
many years of growing complacency and diminishing compliance.
  They happened because our Nation's mine safety system has been 
veering in the wrong direction for far too long. Indeed, several years 
ago I issued a siren's call when I offered an amendment on this floor 
to the labor appropriations bill to block the Mine Safety Health 
Administration from issuing regulations that would have allowed a four-
fold increase of respirable dust in our underground coal mines.

                              {time}  1400

  We must recall that Congress armed MSHA with a sharp regulatory axe. 
But instead of using that weapon, in recent years MSHA has opted for 
the warm and fuzzy gimmick called partnership. What should have been 
sharp, steep and painful fines for safety violations have been reduced 
repeatedly to little more than love taps.
  As new safety technologies have become commonplace in the mines of 
foreign competitors, MSHA failed to prod American mines that have 
plodded along with old devices. It did not punish and deter habitual 
violators. It did not update and maintain safety rules. It did not 
fulfill its statutory mandate or its responsibility to the miners it 
has been charged with protecting.
  The pending measure will begin, begin, I stress, to change all that. 
This bill is not a cure-all. It is not a perfect bill. The only perfect 
bill around this body anymore is naming a post office after somebody. 
It is misleading and dangerous to suggest that any bill can be a cure-
all, but it is a step in the right direction, a step that must not be 
delayed. To delay this legislation, no matter how noble the intentions, 
is to gamble recklessly with the lives of our Nation's coal miners.
  Indeed, I would say to the gentleman from California, good decent 
George, that there are provisions missing from the pending legislation 
that were in our West Virginia bipartisan congressional bill. There are 
also provisions in the gentleman from California's and my bill that are 
not in this legislation. But as I said, this bill at hand is a 
beginning. The death toll in my congressional district, the death toll 
in the State of West Virginia, the death toll across our Nation's coal 
fields must halt, no more delay in acting.
  The MINER Act pending before us, the Senate-passed bill, does include 
a number of improvements over the current law. That is what we are 
talking about, taking a step in the right direction. The pending bill 
is supported by the United Mine Workers of America, by the National 
Mining Association, by the Governor of the State of West Virginia, and 
might I add by the daughter of a miner quoted by the gentleman from 
California, Amber Helms, who said, ``We support The MINER Act recently 
passed by the United States Senate because we believe it is better than 
what we have in our law right now. But if it can be improved upon 
without delay that is where we stand. If this bill as written right now 
is the best we can do today, then we urge the United States Congress to 
pass it immediately.''
  This bill is the best we can do today. It must be acted upon before 
further deaths occur in our coal mines.
  The bill does call for immediate action to incorporate workable 
communication devices. The bill that we are talking about today does 
make immediate requirements for more oxygen, enough to evacuate miners 
in the event of an emergency and enough to maintain miners for a 
sustainable period of time if they are trapped underground. The act 
does not designate a 48-hour supply, as the gentleman from California 
would do, because how does one honestly determine that 48 hours of 
oxygen is sufficient as opposed to 49 hours or 72 hours?
  Indeed, the act requires each coal operator, in consultation with the 
miners and their representatives, to look at the individual mines, and 
as the gentleman from California knows, mines are different, and 
determine, subject to approval in a biennial review by the Secretary of 
Labor, what is an adequate amount of oxygen.
  This bill addresses the seals. It requires the Secretary of Labor to 
develop promulgations and rules to strengthen the seals that have been 
the cause of recent disasters. This bill is a workable piece of 
legislation. It cannot be amended; otherwise we go to a conference 
committee. Who knows when it will then be passed, and it must be acted 
upon today. I urge passage.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the subcommittee chairman on the Appropriations 
Committee.
  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of the MINER Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I am the proud representative of 21 coal producing 
counties and 15,000 Kentucky miners stretching along the Appalachian 
coal seam in eastern Kentucky. These are good paying jobs in 
challenging economic areas, generational jobs passed down through 
families and neighbors for years, requiring training, education and, 
most importantly, hard work. Anyone who has been in these mines a mile 
underground, as some of us have, knows that underground mining also 
comes with a great amount of risk.
  My constituents have and are willing to take those risks in order to 
provide for their families. By also to provide the Nation the coal that 
we need to keep our homes warm and economic engines running. These 
risks and the dangers of coal mining have been brought directly into 
the living room televisions of many Americans over last 6 months. In my 
district it has been much closer to home. The Holmes Mills tragedy in 
Harlan County, Kentucky, underscores the need for comprehensive mine 
safety legislation that provides critically needed protections for 
miners and strengthens the Federal Government's ability to enforce 
safety regulations now.
  We have not had comprehensive mine safety reform in the country for 
decades. Technology has changed, communication equipment has changed, 
our laws have not changed. With that said and with our thoughts and 
prayers still with the families touched by these accidents, Mr. 
Speaker, I rise today with

[[Page 10218]]

my coal State colleagues in support of this MINER Act.
  First, I want to thank Chairman Norwood and Chairman McKeon for 
working together with the majority leader to move mine safety 
legislation now, not later, not next year, not next month, not after 
some conference committee where the Senate sits on it for 6 months but 
now, and I thank them for that. We should not delay one more day 
putting into place requirements to further protect these brave miners 
going even as we speak into the dark of these mines.
  This bill honors the brave men, 11 in Kentucky and in my district 
this year who have died in mine-related accidents. They are not 
forgotten. Mining has always been a dangerous occupation and make no 
mistake, this legislation will not make mining injury free, but it does 
go a long way toward that end. With this legislation we reaffirm our 
commitment to seeing miners have the proper training, rescue equipment, 
communications devices and plans in place should an accident occur.
  I have met with industry leaders, met with the miners, and everyone 
agrees there is room for measured and achievable improvement. This bill 
strikes a reasonable compromise and seeks to put the best available 
technology in the hands of our mining men and women while encouraging 
development of new technologies.
  The Senate wisely moved this legislation quickly and unopposed, and I 
hope we do the same here. I am particularly pleased the bill includes 
some of these provisions. One, it requires the use of wireless two-way 
communications and tracking systems within 3 years. It requires each 
mine's emergency response plan to continuously be reviewed, updated and 
recertified by MSHA every 6 months. It also gives MSHA the power to 
request an injunction, that is to say, shut down a mine in cases where 
the mine has refused to pay a final order or MSHA penalty.
  It would require rescue teams to be close to mines and granted 
immunity. It would require each miner to have a minimum of 2 hours' 
supply of air and require storage of additional breathing devices along 
the escape routes from the mine.
  These measures, Mr. Speaker, go straight to the trouble we have seen 
and should give comfort to our mining families. This legislation, Mr. 
Speaker, honors Kentucky's 17,000 hardworking coal miners, but all the 
others in the country as well who bravely go into the heart of the 
Earth to put bread on the table and to bring light into the lives of 
all Americans.
  Our hats go off to these miners, and I urge that we pass this bill in 
their honor and in their memory.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan).
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Mollohan).
  Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlemen from California, 
each, for yielding and for their work on this important legislation and 
a lifetime of work for safety for workers.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2803, The Mine Improvement and 
New Emergency Response Act of 2006. The need for improvements in coal 
mine health and safety has been tragically reaffirmed by the mine 
disasters in my home State earlier this year. On January 2, 2006, an 
explosion in the Sago mine in Upshur County, West Virginia, followed on 
January 19 by a second disaster in the Aracoma Alma mine in Logan 
County, took the lives of our Nation's finest, our coal miners, forever 
changing the lives of their loved ones and shocking the State and the 
Nation into once again revisiting the adequacy of our coal mine health 
and safety laws.
  The entire West Virginia delegation is in support of this bill. In 
the Senate it passed unanimously with the backing of West Virginia's 
esteemed delegation, Senator Robert C. Byrd and Senator John D. 
Rockefeller. Here in the House, Mr. Rahall, Mrs. Capito and I recently 
introduced the House companion to that bill, H.R. 5432.
  I urge passage of S. 2803 today so that the important work to improve 
mine safety can begin immediately. New approaches to safety challenges 
are clearly needed, particularly in light of advances in technology, 
and we cannot afford to waste another minute.
  Among other things, the MINER Act that we consider here requires that 
miners have emergency air breathable for a sustained period of time and 
that caches providing at least 2 hours of breathable air per miner be 
placed at 30-minute intervals from the working area to the surface. It 
also requires that a redundant means of communicating with the surface 
be provided in each mine as well as a post-accident tracking system.
  I should note that the United Mine Workers of America and the 
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations 
both, Mr. Speaker, support this legislation. While not perfect, this is 
the first best effort to quickly bring significant enhancements to 
safety in our Nation's coal mines.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on each side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) 
has 9\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from California (Mr. George 
Miller) has 6 minutes remaining.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden).
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden).
  MR. HOLDEN. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for yielding 
me the time.
  I rise in support of this bill, but I agree with the ranking member 
that this bill is not perfect. One of the ways that this bill could 
have been improved is if we would have addressed the way MSHA deals 
with anthracite coal mining versus bituminous coal mining, two very 
different forms of coal, hard coal versus soft coal, irregular veins 
versus consistent veins. They are mined differently and they should be 
regulated differently.
  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognizes that. They have two 
separate laws. They have two separate divisions that deal with 
regulation and enforcement of the safety laws. In northeastern 
Pennsylvania and the anthracite fields that I represent, along with Mr. 
Kanjorski and Mr. Sherwood, there is a division in western Pennsylvania 
in the bituminous field; there is another one with two separate laws. 
MSHA has consistently said that one-size-fits-all is what they will do 
in regulation.
  Mr. Speaker, that does not work. The Inspector General from the 
Department of Labor issued a report on March 31 of this year that I 
would like to read in the Record: ``MSHA has not fully addressed the 
possibility that current regulations do not adequately reflect 
operating methods and conditions unique to anthracite coal mining. We 
recommend,'' meaning the Inspector General, ``that MSHA evaluate 
whether the existing petitions for the modification process efficiently 
address the applicability of existing regulations to varying mining 
techniques or whether any existing regulations require revisions for 
anthracite mining methods.''
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation today, but I ask 
the chairman and ranking member to work with me as we try to convince 
MSHA that there is an Inspector General's report, there is a precedent 
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania realizing the difference in 
anthracite mining and bituminous mining. And we can protect our miners 
and we can do it in a fair way.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Chandler).
  Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for all his 
work on this issue.
  Mining coal is indeed a way of life in Kentucky. Our fellow citizens 
who work in our coal mines have been and are still very much at risk. 
To date there have been 33 miners killed in the United States this year 
alone, most recently at the Darby mine in eastern Kentucky which took 
the lives of five miners.

[[Page 10219]]



                              {time}  1415

  As public servants, it is our job to protect the people that we 
represent. While the bill before us today does not include all of the 
protections many of us would like, it is certainly a start. This bill 
will save lives.
  I support this bill, but I also urge my colleagues to see this bill 
as only a beginning to the reforms that need to be passed to make sure 
that our miners have the very safest workplace possible.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, listening to the gentleman from Pennsylvania reminded 
me, my grandfather and my great-grandfather came over from Ireland. 
They settled in Pennsylvania, and some of his brothers died from black 
lung disease, and my great-grandfather came out to Utah and was able to 
survive that.
  You know, I think it is great that we are able to work today on a 
bipartisan basis to get this bill done. It's unfortunate that it takes 
tragedies such as we have seen to draw us together. I remember after 9/
11 how we all gathered on the steps out here, and we really were united 
as Americans.
  I understand there is some opposition to this bill, but mostly, I 
think we are working together to try to move correctly further safety 
to the miners.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the 
balance of the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues who spoke to this issue. 
All of them have worked very hard on behalf of mine safety, not just in 
the aftermath of these most recent tragedies but throughout their 
entire congressional careers. We share that in common.
  This is not an adversarial relationship. This is a difference of 
opinion, and I think it is an important difference of opinion.
  I think that when we went back and we went over these tragedies and 
saw what it was that killed these miners, we saw that we also had the 
capabilities to address the causes and to address them now, and not 
wait 3 years to do some of this.
  We also understood that the quantities of oxygen required for trapped 
miners would be a minimum of 48 hours. It was after some 20 hours that 
Junior Hamner at Sago wrote a note (that was found from him) that said, 
I am in no pain now, but I don't know how long the air will last.
  If we pass this legislation without these amendments, we do not know 
how long the air will last. There is no minimum standard in this bill 
and it should be made explicit on behalf of the miners. Other miners 
told us that the air-pack units were not working adequately. We need 
random spot checks to make sure that there is reliability in the air-
packs.
  We heard the stories of the trapped Sago miners struggling to 
communicate as they would have 100 years ago in the mines, by banging 
on pipes and banging rocks together. The fact of the matter is it is 
now within our grasp to address these problems and address them now.
  Under this legislation, as it is currently written, if a Sago-type 
mine accident were to happen again, a month from now or 6 months from 
now, we do not provide the remedies that are necessary to save lives. 
Given what we learned from the Sago mine accident, I would hope that 
the Congress would do that.
  This is not about speed. It's about getting it right. I have been 
here 30 years, and so very often I have been told if this amendment 
passes, that is the end of the process, and later that night, we pass 
the bill with the amendment. We all understand what the attempt here 
is, and I understand the desire of my colleagues who are so deeply 
impacted by these tragedies to get this legislation on the books. I 
would hope that my colleagues would pause for a moment because maybe 
when I first spoke of them, there was some controversy about these 
amendments. But the judgment that I have brought to this bill and the 
determination that I have brought to this bill, has now been ratified 
by the coal commission in West Virginia and by the State legislature in 
Illinois.
  These are key components for the survivability of these kinds of 
accidents since the Sago miners were not killed by the initial 
explosion, rockfall or other incident that took place. And that's why I 
am so compelled to stand here. It's not easy.
  I have gotten more interesting phone calls from the Senate from 
Members who are interested in the bill than I probably have in the last 
5 years. These are men I have worked with my entire career: Senator 
Robert C. Byrd, Senator John D. Rockefeller, Senator Kennedy. They are 
friends. They are heroes of mine. But we have a disagreement here. It 
is fundamental. I believe it is important, and I would hope that we 
could be able to do this.
  I would urge my colleagues to vote against this suspension of the 
rules so we would have a chance to address this in limited open debate, 
with up-or-down votes. I am not here to delay the bill at all, and I 
would hope that that would be the outcome of this debate.
  Again, I think all of us, whether people agree with me or disagree 
with me, all of us share the desire to increase the margins of safety 
for those individuals who go into the mines and for their families who 
remain on the surface.
  We have talked a great deal about energy. This is a key component of 
energy. We need these people to continue to go into the mines, and all 
of us desire to increase those margins of safety for them.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I propose that we take 
this bill and we pass it today. We continue to work to improve miner 
safety. We do not wait another 30 years plus to have this issue 
addressed.
  I would like to place into the Record the letter from the National 
Mining Association supporting rapid action on this bill and others.

         House of Representatives,


                     Committee on Education and the Workforce,

                                     Washington, DC, June 6, 2006.
     Hon. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Sensenbrenner: Thank you for your recent 
     letter regarding the consideration of S. 2803, the Mine 
     Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, I agree 
     that my committee shares jurisdiction over the provisions of 
     the bill related to limited liability for rescue operation, 
     penalties, and fine collection with the Committee on the 
     Judiciary.
       I appreciate your willingness to forgo consideration of S. 
     2803 by your committee. I agree that waiving consideration of 
     S. 2803 in no way diminishes or alters the jurisdictional 
     interest of the Committee on the Judiciary. I will include 
     your letter and this response in the Congressional Record 
     during the bill's consideration on the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                        Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                     Washington, DC, June 7, 2006.
     Hon. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon,
     Chairman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman McKeon: In recognition of the desire to 
     expedite consideration of S. 2803, the Mine Improvement and 
     New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the Committee on the 
     Judiciary hereby waives consideration of the bill. There are 
     a number of provisions contained in S. 2803 that implicate 
     the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary. 
     Specifically, the bill contains provisions relating to 
     limitation on rescue operation liability, penalties, and fine 
     collection that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee 
     on the Judiciary.
       The Committee takes this action with the understanding that 
     by forgoing consideration of S. 2803, the Committee on the 
     Judiciary does not waive any jurisdiction over subject matter 
     contained in this or similar legislation. The Committee also 
     reserves the right to seek appointment to any House-Senate 
     conference on this legislation and requests your support if 
     such a request is made. Finally, I would appreciate your 
     including this letter in the Congressional Record during 
     consideration of S. 2803 on the House floor. Thank you for 
     your attention to these matters.
           Sincerely,
                                       F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
                                                         Chairman.

[[Page 10220]]

     
                                  ____
                               United Mine Workers of America,

                                         Fairfax VA, June 5, 2006.
       Dear Representative: The tragic events that have unfolded 
     in the coalfield communities since January 2, 2006 have 
     captured the attention of the entire nation. As you are no 
     doubt aware, thirty-three coal miners have lost their lives 
     while attempting to fulfill the energy needs of the country. 
     This is far too high a price for workers in any industry to 
     pay for merely going to work and supporting their families. 
     The United Mine Workers of America urges you to support the 
     bipartisan MINER Act, to improve coal miners' safety.
       What makes these recent mining deaths so disturbing is that 
     many could have been prevented. The United Mine Workers of 
     America is convinced that had additional safety precautions 
     been required by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, 
     many of those miners who perished may well have survived the 
     initial fire or explosion. For example, had additional oxygen 
     been available, if directional lifelines were provided, had 
     emergency evacuation training been more comprehensive, and if 
     state of the art communications had been in place, the 
     chances of these miners surviving would have been greatly 
     increased.
       In assessing what went wrong in each of these events we 
     must not stop after determining the underlying reasons for 
     these tragedies. Rather, we must take a proactive approach 
     and begin to implement laws that will better protect miners 
     and prevent more families from living with the horror so many 
     have recently confronted.
       The United States Senate unanimously passed legislation 
     that is aimed at improving miners' safety and offering miners 
     a fighting chance of survival in the event of a mine 
     emergency. Senate Bill 2803--the MINER Act--was a bi-partisan 
     bill that every member of the Senate--Republican and Democrat 
     alike--recognized would begin to offer better protection to 
     miners. Indeed, this Bill represents the first overhaul of 
     the Nation's mining laws since the adoption of the 1977 
     Federal Mine Safety and Health Act.
       The coal mining deaths of 2006 have reminded the nation how 
     dangerous this occupation can be if left unchecked. The time 
     for legislation to address miners' safety is long overdue. 
     The Senate has acted, and it is my heartfelt belief that SB 
     2803 will improve miners' protections in the coal industry. 
     Therefore, I urge you to cast your vote in favor of the MINER 
     Act when it comes to the floor of the House to protect the 
     Nation's miners and their families. It constitutes an 
     essential first step in addressing the many hazards coal 
     miners still face today.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Cecil E. Roberts,
     International President.
                                  ____



                                  National Mining Association,

                                     Washington, DC, June 6, 2006.
     Hon. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon,
     Chairman, House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
         Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charlie Norwood,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, House 
         Committee on Education and the Workforce, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairmen McKeon and Norwood: The National Mining 
     Association (NMA) commends you and the House leadership for 
     moving S. 2308, the ``Mine Improvement and New Emergency 
     Response (MINER) Act,'' to the floor for swift consideration.
       The MINER Act contains many of NMA's legislative principles 
     regarding improvements needed in the area of communications 
     and tracking, mine rescue and breathable air supplies. We 
     appreciated the opportunity to share these principles with 
     you and the members of the committee during the extensive 
     hearing process conducted earlier this year.
       NMA is pleased to join the United Mine Workers of America 
     in calling for passage of the MINER Act. Our alliance in 
     support of this legislation should be viewed as a testament 
     to its importance for America's underground coal miners. We 
     are also pleased this legislation has received broad 
     bipartisan Congressional support and strongly believe it will 
     lead to safer mines. America's underground coal miners 
     deserve no less.
       Again, thank you for making mine safety legislation a 
     priority. We stand ready to assist you in soliciting support 
     from your colleagues for the MINER Act.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                   Kraig R. Naasz,
                                                   President & CEO

  Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of our time to the gentlewoman 
from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), who has been a strong leader on 
pushing to get this bill to the floor.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
California for yielding and start by thanking my colleagues in the West 
Virginia delegation for their efforts on this legislation. Our 
delegation has truly stood as one on behalf of the safety of our 
State's miners. We stood together in the Senate hall, all five of us 
together, and pledged to make a difference through legislation.
  I would like to thank the leadership, and I would like to thank 
Chairman McKeon and Chairman Norwood for their quick action on bringing 
this matter to the floor. I would like to thank my fellow Members from 
other coal States who have suffered such tragedies.
  I would like to make something clear. The MINER Act is not a 
controversial piece of legislation. It is slightly unfortunate that 
there has been some confusion around the issue that's important to the 
people of West Virginia and other mining States. As we have heard from 
the other Members, this is a great opportunity, a good chance, a good 
first step and one we must seize.
  This bill has unique support across the mining community and across 
geographic and political lines. The UNWA, the National Mining 
Association, the AFL-CIO, and the West Virginia Coal Association and 
others support passage of this, and the Senate has unanimously passed 
this legislation.
  As we have heard, the legislation would require every underground 
coal mine in the country to have its own emergency response such as 
tracking devices and flame resistant post-accident lifelines. The bill 
immediately requires a redundant means of communication with the 
surface, using the best system that is technologically feasible.
  This legislation takes a major step in making sure miners have a 
reliable supply of oxygen underground. The bill makes sure that miners 
have a 2-hour supply of oxygen throughout the mines, spaced at 
distances the average miner can walk in 30 minutes.
  A crucial provision also requires a maintenance and replacement 
schedule for the emergency breathing devices. Statements from survivors 
of recent mine accidents have questioned whether emergency breathing 
equipment was functioning properly, and this bill helps address that.
  To make sure that precious time is not lost in assembling mine rescue 
teams, this bill makes sure that every mine has at least two mine 
rescue teams that can reach the site within an hour.
  For those who violate safety regulations, this legislation increases 
the maximum civil and criminal penalties and allows MSHA to issue an 
injunction in order to close mines that fail to pay fines.
  No one has said that the MINER Act is the final step in making miners 
safer. In fact, this is only the beginning of a renewed dialogue to 
make sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure our miners 
are safe.
  I would like to remind my colleagues we have a choice, support the 
most significant revision to mine safety laws since 1977 or oppose the 
bill and cast a vote that will take us nowhere.
  Mr. Speaker, the Sago mine is in my district. I waited with the 
families and the Upshur County community on that cold day in January as 
rescuers worked to save the Sago miners. I saw firsthand the pain 
suffered by the families when only one survivor was found. I looked 
into the eyes of the wives, of the sisters, the brothers, the mothers, 
the fathers as they learned that their loved ones were never coming 
back.
  The Sago men and women are my constituents and my friends. They are 
the backbone of the great State of West Virginia and our Nation. For 
all of us, we cannot let this opportunity pass.
  I ask that my colleagues join me to help these real men and women who 
have hopes and dreams, have a great faith in us, that we will help them 
to make sure that we pull together so that no one will suffer the 
tragedy and the heartache that they suffered that day in Sago and other 
days across this country.
  I ask my colleagues to join me, to join me in making the right choice 
to improve mine safety by voting for the MINER Act.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this landmark 
mine safety legislation, S. 2803. Mine safety has been on all our minds 
this year, as Americans mourned the heartbreaking disasters at the 
Aracoma Alma and Sago mines in West Virginia in January. Thus, 
throughout the process of crafting this bill, all parties have wanted 
the end product to strongly improve safety for miners.

[[Page 10221]]

  In my district in southwestern Pennsylvania, the mining industry has 
been a central part of the way of life for a century and a half. My 
great-grandfather was a coal miner, who worked in Pennsylvania mines 
when carts were pulled by mules and mines were lit by candles. Mining 
was very dangerous work then. The mining industry has certainly made 
remarkable strides ever since.
  Today is another great step forward for miners in Pennsylvania and 
across the Nation; therefore, I am pleased to support S. 2803. On March 
16, as mine safety legislation was being crafted, I was pleased to 
testify on the subject of mine safety before the Education and 
Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. On that day, I 
expressed many concerns about current mine conditions. For instance, I 
cited my concern about whether miners are sufficiently employing 
technology to communicate with one another, especially when accidents 
occur. S. 2803 requires that all mines provide immediate notification 
of accidents and regularly update their emergency response plans. At 
the hearing, I also raised my discomfort with the use of ``belt air,'' 
which can be unhealthy to breathe and even flammable. Accordingly, the 
bill before us prohibits the use of conveyor belts to ventilate work 
areas.
  While recent tragedies have dominated the mining industry news of 
late, I hope we recount the success stories of the mining industry 
alongside some of the failures. For instance, CONSOL Energy, based in 
my district, sent their own rescue teams to the Sago mine in January. 
The CONSOL rescue teams arrived first at the scene, and they have 
worked tirelessly on many other occasions to help miners throughout 
Pennsylvania and West Virginia, regardless of who owns the mine. They 
are a success story I am pleased to highlight, of which we should all 
be proud.
  The coal industry has helped fuel this Nation for 150 years, and coal 
can be used to heat our homes, power our economy, and protect our 
Nation for at least another 150 years if we continue to use it. We all 
grieved the tragic accidents in West Virginia in January. This bill 
will help prevent such accidents in the future.
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, 33 underground coal miners have already been 
killed on the job so far this year, starting with the Sago mine 
disaster right after New Year's day. We do these fallen mineworkers as 
well as their surviving family members and friends a serious disservice 
by limiting debate on this bill to 40 minutes and barring any 
strengthening amendments. These hard-working men, their families and 
wider communities of friends and neighbors deserve far better treatment 
on the floor of the U.S. House. Unless we take legislative action that 
would prevent future mine disasters like those that occurred at Sago, 
Aracoma Alma, Darby and elsewhere this year, we are hoping rhetoric 
will mask our failure to deliver significant protections to hard-
working mineworkers Nation-wide.
  At the Sago mine disaster, a methane gas explosion killed one 
mineworker and trapped 12 others. It took 40 hours for rescuers to 
reach those trapped underground and by the time they did, 11 miners had 
died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The sole survivor at Sago, Randal 
McCloy, has since reported that at least four of the air-packs designed 
to provide an hour's worth of breathable air to the miners 
malfunctioned. Moreover, the Sago miners lacked one-way text messaging 
and tracking devices--devices that are currently used in mines 
throughout Australia, Chile, China and South Africa. Those devices 
would have saved lives at Sago.
  To make certain that the Sago tragedy is never repeated in this 
country, I support wholeheartedly three simple amendments to this bill 
as proposed by Representative Miller. They would require:
  At least 48 hours of emergency air for each mineworker;
  Finalized plans within 15 months for adding lifesaving communications 
and tracking equipment; and
  Federal MSHA regularly conducted random field tests of airpacks, self 
contained self rescuers, to ensure they are in working order.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I wish to close with the question posed by 
the AFL-CIO about these three amendments in their letter to Congress on 
mine safety: ``Frankly, we do not understand why anybody would oppose 
such common sense measures.''
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2803, the 
Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006, to 
provide important Federal safety regulations for coal mines.
  The number of coal miners who have died so far this year is alarming 
and has highlighted the pressing need to revise coal miner health 
safety standards to ensure miners are equipped with state of the art 
technologies, tracking devices, and sufficient emergency supplies of 
oxygen.
  Our current Federal mine safety regulations are outdated. We need to 
act now to protect the health and safety of our coal miners from future 
tragedies and enact stiffer penalties for flagrant violations of the 
law. Further, regulations must be enforced. I have cosponsored 
Representative Miller's bill, H.R. 5389, the Protecting America's 
Miners Act, to improve mine safety regulations to help protect miners 
in the event of an emergency.
  The bill before the House today, S. 2803, while not perfect, includes 
many important provisions to help save lives. The measure is a step in 
the right direction and is only the beginning of more mine safety 
reforms to be considered in the House to ensure our mine workers have 
the safest measures in place.
  I represent southwestern and southern Illinois, a region with a rich 
coal mining history. Coal mining has played a significant roll in 
transforming and developing the region since the mid-1800s when 
substantial coal mining in Illinois began. In 2006, the coal industry 
continues to be a vital component of our economy, and one we are 
working to strengthen for the future. Improving mine safety standards 
is an important part of this process began in Illinois, West Virginia, 
and other coal producing States. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to 
support S. 2803 to affirm our commitment to the hard working men and 
women who enter coal mines every day.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today not in opposition to the 
content of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, but to 
the process by which it is brought to the floor. By bringing this 
important legislation to the floor as a suspension bill, members of 
this body are denied the opportunity to offer necessary amendments to 
improve the safety of miners.
  A clear message was apparent when the most recent edition of the 
comprehensive report on workplace safety, ``Death on the Job,'' was 
released in April: American workers and their families need stronger 
enforcement of OSHA and MSHA for their health and safety. In the first 
increase in the number of workplace deaths since 1994, 5,703 U.S. 
workers were killed on the job in 2004. The vast majority of workplace 
deaths occur with little national recognition or public outcry. But 
early this year an explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia focused 
the attention of the entire Nation on 13 families waiting to hear the 
fate of their loved ones. Our failure to protect miners from 
preventable tragedies was made evident 40 hours after the explosion, 
when the trapped miners were reached and only one survivor was found.
  Despite numerous calls for action on mine safety legislation in the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce, this Congress chose to do 
nothing to improve the safety of miners until a second tragedy--this 
time at a mine in Kentucky--forced action in the Senate. Now this bill 
is brought to the floor of the House for a vote, without any chance for 
members to offer amendments and improve upon the Senate's initial step. 
The reason offered for this rush to passage is that action is needed 
immediately to ensure the safety of miners. Immediate action is needed. 
Immediate action was needed in January, following the tragedy at Sago. 
Action was needed over the past 5 years as the administration withdrew 
or delayed action on 18 different mine safety rules. We do need to act 
now. But in our haste to improve safety we should take the time to 
ensure we do things right.
  It is clear this bill will in fact improve mine safety. The Senate 
bill will improve the tracking and communications devices used in 
mines, increase penalties for noncompliance and improve mine rescue 
team operations. It is a good step, but we can and should do more. We 
should use the lessons learned from Sago and take the steps to ensure 
other miners do not suffer the same fate.
  My colleague, Congressman Miller, has proposed three simple and 
necessary amendments to this bill that would do just that. These 
amendments would require random testing of self-rescue devices by MSHA 
to ensure these vital devices are functional when needed. They would 
require a minimum of 2 days worth of air for trapped miners. And they 
would shorten to 15 months the time period for mines to install 
technology to track and communicate with miners underground. These are 
simple changes, which miners and the mine industry in West Virginia 
have already agreed are necessary as a part of the West Virginia Mine 
Safety Technology Task Force. Miners at the Sago mine and other West 
Virginia mines will now be protected from the problems that led to the 
death of those 12 miners earlier this year, not because of the bill we 
are debating today, but by State law. Miners across the Nation deserve 
and require

[[Page 10222]]

those same protections. Passage of this bill, without such amendments, 
gives false hope to the families of miners in other States that a Sago-
like disaster will not befall their loved ones in the future.
  The core mission of MSHA is to protect workers by enforcing safety 
standards. These workers are not the bosses who decide if and how a 
business will obey the law. Instead they face the consequences of those 
decisions. They need strong workplace safety laws and vigorous 
enforcement, and that is what this Congress should be focused on 
providing. We do a great disservice to workers by ignoring the 
resources that would offer them greater protections. I urge my 
colleagues to consider the additional improvements we can and should 
make for the safety of miners across the Nation. We must refocus our 
time and efforts toward protecting workers.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased the U.S. House of 
Representatives is debating much needed legislation to improve mining 
safety across this nation. S. 2803, the Mine Improvement and New 
Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006, is a compromise bill that 
received unanimous support in the U.S. Senate and is endorsed by 
industry and mining workers alike. While no legislation is perfect, 
this bill goes a long way to protect the brave workers who help secure 
America's energy needs.
  The MINER Act includes a provision that is of particular importance 
to my home state of Utah. Section 11 of S. 2803 authorizes the 
establishment of an independent scientific and engineering review of 
belt air utilization and the composition and fire retardant properties 
of belt materials in underground coal mining.
  Utah's situation with respect to belt air is unique. Utah's coal 
mines are under deep cover with greater than 1,500 feet of overburden; 
for enhanced safety, this requires the use of two-entry gate roads for 
longwall panels. This means only two tunnels lead to the longwall 
equipment compared to three or four tunnels leading to the longwall 
equipment found in most longwall mines in the East. Under such deep 
overburden, additional tunnels or entries would lead to unstable and 
unsafe conditions.
  In any longwall mining system design, one of the entries must be used 
for the conveyor belt system to transport coal out of the mine. In 
Utah, where only two-entry mines are practical, both entries must be 
used to deliver enough fresh air to the longwall machine to properly 
control dust and methane to meet ventilation health standards.
  Due to the importance of belt air use to Utah's mining industry, it 
is my hope the panel called for in the MINER Act is expeditiously 
convened and uses sound science to properly evaluate the use of belt 
air in underground coal mining.
  In addition, Section 14 of S. 2803 establishes the ``Brookwood-Sago 
Mine Safety Grants'' program to help provide funding for education and 
training programs concerning safety and health topics in mines.
  In my District, a consortium of local business and education 
interests recently announced the establishment of the Western Energy 
Training Center in Price, Utah with the help of a two-year Department 
of Labor grant. The mission of the Center is to educate and train 
workers to fill jobs for the mining and energy related industries, 
workers who are badly needed throughout the West. The Center will 
educate and train future workers with a focus on improving both the 
technical experience of the labor force and worker commitment to 
safety.
  The ``Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants'' program is poised to become 
an invaluable resource for institutions like the Western Energy 
Training Center in improving the safety record of America's energy 
industry.
  The MINER Act is the first substantial overhaul of our nation's 
mining laws in almost three decades and is an essential step to 
remedying the many health and safety shortfalls facing coal miners 
today. I urge all of my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives 
to support the passage of this legislation.
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, we must encourage the 
development of new mine safety technologies and not hinder advances. 
Remember that when an accident occurs underground all power is shut off 
and our miners are working in the dark, perhaps unaware of what has 
taken place, and under stressful conditions.
  Recent discussions about advancing mine safety technology have 
focused on a few distinct areas including self-contained self-rescuers, 
emergency shelters, two-way communications equipment, tracking devices, 
and lifelines.
  Specifically, Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the references to 
self-contained self-rescuers in section 2 and section 6 of S. 2803. It 
is important to clarify that in no way should the requirements under 
section 2 discourage improving the design of self-contained self-
rescuers.
  A self-contained self-rescuer, SCSR, is a respiratory device used by 
miners for the purpose of escape during mine fires and explosions; it 
provides the wearer a closed-circuit supply of breathable air for a 
period of time that varies from model to model.
  While the current MSHA regulations require that miners be provided 
with SCSRs that protect for a least 1 hour, some SCSRs on the market 
provide longer protection, approaching 2 hours, and research is under 
way to develop longer lasting SCSRs.
  Mr. Speaker, in a 2001 study, the National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health, NIOSH, reported that out of 214 miners surveyed 38 
percent had been notified to evacuate a mine because of fire or 
explosion during their career. Data provided by the U.S. Mine Rescue 
Association indicates that the depletion of oxygen and the production 
of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide cause more fatalities than all 
other causes combined.
  Access to and proper operation of SCSRs is a matter of life and death 
to miners.
  The Office of Mine Safety and Health is established by section 6 of 
S. 2803, the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006. 
The purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new mine 
safety technology and to expedite its commercial availability and 
implementations.
  Mr. Speaker, section 2 of S. 2803 describes the components of an 
emergency response plan every coal mine must follow should an accident 
occur. Section 2(E)(iii)(II), refers to the hour of breathable air 
required by MSHA's new emergency temporary standard in addition to the 
hour already required by the mandatory SCSR standard. Beyond that, Mr. 
Speaker, the provision requires additional ``caches of self-rescuers 
providing in the aggregate not less than 2 hours per miner to be kept 
in escapeways from the deepest work area to the surface at a distance 
of no further than an average miner could walk in 30 minutes.''
  Mr. Speaker, my concern is that in placing the SCSRs the average 
distance that a miner can walk in 30 minutes may unintentionally 
discourage technical advances. I am also worried that the provision in 
this act may unintentionally result in less safety should it result in 
encouraging miners in emergency situations to remove SCSRs before they 
are depleted and struggle to don new SCSRs in smoke-filled or other 
toxic atmospheres. It is not our intention to lock, either, the 
Secretary of Labor, miners, or their employers into a misguided one-
size-fits-all solution. It is my intent that the Secretary would 
accommodate performance-based determinations of self-contained self-
rescuer locations, and not discourage development and deployment of 
advanced self-contained self-rescuer technologies that provide greater 
amounts of breathable air than currently available devices, which would 
protect miners for longer and would require fewer changes from a 
depleted unit to a fresh unit in hazardous atmospheres.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also encourage the Secretary to allow the use of 
appropriately constructed self-rescue transfer stations to be built in 
common locations between two parallel and adjacent escapeways. 
Providing a safe place to abandon old SCSRs and don new equipment 
during an evacuation will also improve the survivability of the miner.
  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2803.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the 
yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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