http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/16/house-passes-mine-safety-bill-bush-plans-to-veto/After listening to the pleas of the families of coal miners killed on the job, the expert advice of health and safety professionals and the strong testimony of union leaders, the U.S. House today voted to strengthen the nation’s mine safety laws.
But ignoring those same pleas, advice and testimony, the Bush administration says it will veto the latest attempt to keep more miners alive, safe and healthy.
By a 214–199 vote, the House approved H.R. 2768, the S-MINER Act that builds on the 2006 MINER Act that passed in the aftermath of the Sago, Aracoma and Darby coal mine disasters and was the first major mine safety legislation in decades. More coal miners—47—were killed on the job in 2006 than in any year since 1996. A similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).
The legislation is aimed at preventing mine disasters, improving emergency response and reducing long-term health risks such as black lung.
In what can only be described as an absurd take on the bill, the Bush administration’s veto threat claims the bill would “place in jeopardy” mine safety and “impose burdensome” time requirements to improve mine safety rules. (Click here to read how the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is so far behind in developing improved mine safety regulations it is begging for volunteers to help meet safety rule deadlines.)
But as Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, says, coal miners, the families and lawmakers view the legislation quite differently.
Our aim is a simple one: We want to do everything we can to ensure that miners are able to return home safely at the end of their shifts.
In a letter of support from widows, parents, adult children and other family members of coal miners killed in Kentucky underground mines and also signed by working coal miners and our family members, the group says.
Miners and their families shouldn’t have to worry about threats to their jobs - or their personal safety–if they speak up when they encounter safety or health problems underground.
Miners should also have every available tool to make sure that if an accident does happen, they have the ability to escape harm.
Coal companies should be required to build stronger mine seals with substantial materials that will withstand a mine explosion and protect the miners who are working in the active areas underground.
And mine operators should be held accountable when they don’t live up to their legal obligation to protect their employees who work every day under difficult circumstances.
Mine Workers (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts says while the 2006 MINER Act focused on the post-accident setting,
H.R. 2678 is designed to prevent accidents and illnesses in the first place. The S-Miner Act is the first piece of legislation in over 30 years to focus on preventing mining accidents and illnesses. Since the disaster struck at the Sago Mine on Jan. 2, 2006, 81 coal miners have died in mining incidents.
One of the bill’s provisions is aimed directly at the controversial mining practice known as retreat mining, a practice that came into the national spotlight after it was linked to the deaths of six miners killed in August at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. Three rescue workers also were killed trying to reach the six trapped miners whose bodies were never recovered.
Retreat mining involves pulling down the pillars of coal that had been left to support the mine roof in areas previously mined. Mine safety experts consider it a dangerous and risky method that should be conducted only under the most stringent guidelines.
In a letter, family members of miners killed at the Crandall Canyon Mine say the new bill
will address mining practices that caused our loved ones to be trapped underground, where they remain entombed to this day, and led to still more deaths of the brave men who tried to rescue them.
As family members of miners killed while working in a coal mine, we have experienced what happens when the coal industry puts profits before miners’ safety.
Among other provisions, the S-MINER Act also:
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Strengthens standards to contain explosions and fires inside mines.
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Improves enforcement by giving MSHA subpoena authority and increasing certain penalties against mine operators who violate the law.
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Creates a miner ombudsman’s office to handle safety complaints from miners.
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Requires MSHA to work with state and local authorities to coordinate disaster response plans.
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Improves safety technology in the mines, including better tracking and communications equipment, more reliable air supplies and the installation of refuge chambers, where trapped miners can safely await rescue.
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Updates standards to combat black lung disease and to reduce miners’ exposure to other deadly health risks, such as asbestos.
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