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“THE MINERS AND SOMERSET COUNTY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S7448-S7449 on July 29, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE MINERS AND SOMERSET COUNTY
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to speak about the gallant men, nine miners from Somerset County in my State of Pennsylvania, who went through a most extraordinary ordeal--77 hours trapped in a mine. The eyes and ears of the world were on Somerset County, people wondering if it was possible for men in an underground mine shaft, immersed in water reportedly 4 feet to 5 feet high, no food, no communication with the outside world--people wondered whether those men could survive. Almost in a miraculous way, finally, through the extraordinary efforts of Federal, State, and local rescuers, those nine men were rescued at 2:44 a.m. on Sunday, just yesterday. Their ordeal started on Wednesday, July 24, at 9 p.m., and ended on Sunday morning, July 28 at 2:44 a.m.
People are in amazement around the world, at their successful rescues. It is very unusual, very odd to say the least, that a small county in western Pennsylvania, more than 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, would be the focus of so much international attention.
Last September 11, as we all know, a flight crashed into Somerset, one of the four hijacked by terrorists on September 11, the flight widely believed to be headed to this building, the Capitol of the United States. No one can be sure--some have speculated it might have been headed to the White House--but the speculation was that the plane which crashed into the Pentagon was headed to the White House.
In any event, Somerset County was the site of an international tragedy less than a year ago. It is more than lightning, but to have lightning, so to speak, strike twice in such a small county in western Pennsylvania is unusual. But this time, instead of tragedy, instead of the loss of lives, these men were rescued.
In an era where there is so much bad news around the world, so much difficulty with terrorism around the world, the problems with the Palestinian terrorists against Israel, the grave difficulties between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the differences and fighting between the North Koreans and South Koreans and all the problems of Africa--and that litany could be the subject of a lengthy conversation--to find a bright spot, find a success, find a rescue, is certainly more than a breath of fresh air for the entire world but especially, of course, for the miners who were involved: Mr. Randy Fogle, Mr. Harry Blaine Mayhugh, Mr. Thomas Foy, Mr. John Unger, Mr. John Phillippi, Mr. Ronald Hileman, Mr. Dennis Hall, Jr., Mr. Robert Pugh, and Mr. Mark Popernack.
Representing Pennsylvania, as I have for some 22 years now, I have obviously been intimately connected with the issue of the coal miners, with some 30 billion tons of bituminous in western Pennsylvania and 7 billion tons of anthracite in northeastern Pennsylvania and the mining industries being struggling industries, this industry has taken up a great deal of time--not only of mine, but of the entire Pennsylvania delegation, really beyond the Pennsylvania delegation.
I have had occasion to go underground. I must say it is an eerie, desolate feeling to take one of those elevators down about 20 stories and then hunch over, in the miner's gear with a little light on your cap, and lean backwards in a rail car which moves several miles underground because you can't sit up straight, there isn't sufficient room. I have marveled at the courage and the tenacity of the miners who go into those deep mines, day after day after day, risking life and limb.
There was a time not too long ago when a thousand miners a year were killed there. Fortunately, with mine safety, that situation has improved materially, but it is still a very risky line of work.
I got through today to Mr. Ron Hileman who lives in Gray, PA, and talked to him about his experiences. As you might imagine, he is a real hero. When I said to Mr. Hileman that he was a hero, he dissented, but that is the way heroes are. They do not acknowledge being heroes.
We talked about being in that enclosed area with 60 million gallons of water pouring in. A miner of 27 years with a wife and two children, of course, the joy in the Hileman family was overwhelming. Mr. Hileman expressed his own very deep gratitude.
I asked him what had happened. I asked him if the maps might have foretold the problem.
He said no because the maps did the best they could. But when other miners came in adjacent, as Mr. Hileman put it, some of the miners would snatch a little extra coal--go a little extra distance and go beyond the line which they had and into another area. Then, when the miners went down there last week, they ran into an old mine shaft. The old mine shaft had caused the enormous problem with the flooding.
I want to pay tribute to Pennsylvania's Governor, Mark Schweicker, an international figure, a hero in his own right--and for good cause--on the job, persevering, leading Federal, State, and local officials, meeting with the families. I talked to him over the weekend and he was there, on the job, and certainly deserves the commendation, not only of Pennsylvania but the commendation of the Nation, the commendation of the world.
This accident points up the need for greater concern for miners' safety as they are performing very important work, providing energy, providing coal, providing a resource in our effort to try to free ourselves from the dominance of OPEC oil. With progress in clean coal technology, as I have said on this floor on many occasions, the coal industry across America, Pennsylvania, West Virginia to Wyoming and beyond, could provide that alternative source of energy.
When I look over what we have done on the subcommittee for the Department of Labor appropriations going back to September of 1981, there were efforts to reduce the mine surface inspections from twice a year to once a year. Many of us resisted, and that was stopped.
We had a mining hearing August 1991 where there were operators who were tampering with coal mine dust devices. Then there have been efforts made to cut the Mine Safety and Health Administration repeatedly.
This body, the U.S. Senate, and Senator Harkin, as ranking member in 1995 when I took over the chairmanship, and now Senator Harkin as chairman, on a bipartisan approach has maintained the safety funding so that where there have been efforts to cut, we have resisted. We maintain the black lung clinics.
I believe that this is a good day for the United States and the U.S. Senate to pay tribute to the coal miners of America for what they are doing for the Nation by providing needed energy for domestic purposes and also for national security.
Especially thanks for the rescue of the nine mine workers; and we pay tribute to those men and their families and to the heroic rescuers led by Governor Schweiker that brought them to safety.
I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, how much time remains on our side?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Seven minutes 43 seconds remaining.
Mr. ENZI. Thank you. I have a more extensive speech, but I will limit my remarks so that the Senator from North Dakota will have his full time.
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