The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 2006” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E58-E59 on Feb. 1, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 2006
______
HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO
of west virginia
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, in the month of January, two major mining accidents took place in West Virginia, killing 12 miners at the Sago mine in Upshur County and 2 at the Alma mine in Logan County. Today the West Virginia congressional delegation on a bipartisan basis, introduced the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 2006. This mine safety legislation will require the Mine Safety and Health Administration to issue regulations to provide for immediate notification of mine accidents, new regulations for mine safety teams to ensure a quick response, and improved technology to keep miners safe.
Specifically, the bill requires that mine rescue teams employed by the mine operator and familiar with an individual mine be available to respond immediately. Regulations require that three mine safety teams be present--two in a mine and one standing by outside--prior to a rescue operation beginning. It is important that the necessary rescue teams be in place as soon as possible so that the rescue can begin as soon as mine conditions allow.
This legislation creates an MSHA Office of Science and Technology, and requires MSHA to examine new mine safety and rescue technologies, including refuge chambers. The world watched as tragedy was averted in Canada this past weekend because 72 trapped miners were able to escape to a designated safe haven with a supply of oxygen and communications technology.
The Federal Mine Safety Act would require that emergency supplies of oxygen and breathing equipment be placed in strategic locations in the mine. Each of these locations would also include communications equipment so that miners can provide information about their location and condition to rescuers, and miners can receive information from the outside. The legislation also calls for miners to be provided with emergency tracking devices.
Other provisions of the legislation, including a miner ombudsman in the Department of Labor to take reports of safety violations from miners, will also help to make our mines safer.
It is important that this House act on legislation to improve the safety of our coal mines. I spent time with the friends and families of the Sago mine victims, both as we awaited news on the rescue effort and after we knew the tragic result. I do not want to watch more families endure what the families of the Sago victims went through.
I urge my colleagues, whether your State is a major producer of coal or not, and regardless of your party affiliation, to join the West Virginia delegation in helping to prevent future mining tragedies.
____________________
