April 28, 2010
Sen. Jay Rockefeller States: 'We Have Been Here Before….'
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Washington, DC — Senator Jay Rockefeller on Tuesday, April 27 delivered remarks and asked questions at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on Putting Safety First: Strengthening Enforcement and Creating a Culture of Compliance at Mines and Other Dangerous Workplaces.
Tuesday's hearing was the first Congressional hearing to address the tragic disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va. The hearing focused on problems with mine safety and how to effectively enforce workplace safety laws in the coal mining industry. Senator Rockefeller is not a Member of the Senate HELP Committee, but was asked to participate in the hearing by Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA).
HELP Committee Hearing Statement
I want to thank Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and all my colleagues on the Committee for allowing me to participate in this timely hearing the day before Workers Memorial Day.
Workplace safety is important in all industries – but it is absolutely critical in those industries where the risks of injury are great and the consequences of poor safety are severe.
Sadly, we have been here before – after the tragedies of Sago and Aracoma. I had the honor of joining the Committee then.
And it meant a lot to the families of the miners lost in those tragedies when several members of this Committee (Enzi, Kennedy, Isakson), came to West Virginia at the time to see the essence of my state up close.
Following those tragic events, we vowed to improve safety in the mines, and we came together to pass the bipartisan MINER Act – a good piece of legislation that did improve safety and rescue response – the most significant federal mine safety legislation since 1977.
But it is clear we must do more. We must honor the sacrifice of the 29 brave miners killed at the Upper Big Branch mine by learning from this terrible tragedy and making mining safer.
First and foremost, safety is about a company doing the right thing to develop a true culture of safety.
We need to find out what is working in safe mines (because there are companies doing the right thing every day and we cannot forget that). And we need to know what is not working in dangerous mines.
Because the mine operators who show no regard for safety should not be allowed to gain a competitive advantage by risking the lives of their employees.
Safety is also about state and federal governments stepping in and toughening up our laws – and providing the resources and the people to enforce those laws.
We will learn a lot from MSHA’s investigation into the tragedy, but many problems in our system are already quite clear.
1) We know that MSHA can issue immediate withdrawal orders for imminently dangerous violations. But we need to find out if MSHA is doing all it can to find them and if it is using its authority to the fullest extent.
2) Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has a backlog of more than 16,000 cases consisting of 82,000 violations.
That must change—we must reduce the appeals backlog as soon as possible and put an end to the loopholes in the law that allow some mines to put profit over safety.
3) We also need to improve MSHA’s enforcement efforts and determine what new authorities the agency may need, such as subpoena power or enhanced criminal penalties.
And 4), there is also more work to do to protect whistleblowers. No one should fear losing their job because they are trying to make the workplace safer.
We are all committed. The president is committed. So, let’s get down to business. Mr. Chairman, Thank you for having me here. I am grateful and I look forward to working with you on this important issue going forward.
You Tube Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4qrYknRBjI
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Sen. Jay Rockefeller States: 'We Have Been Here Before….'
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Washington, DC — Senator Jay Rockefeller on Tuesday, April 27 delivered remarks and asked questions at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on Putting Safety First: Strengthening Enforcement and Creating a Culture of Compliance at Mines and Other Dangerous Workplaces.
Tuesday's hearing was the first Congressional hearing to address the tragic disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va. The hearing focused on problems with mine safety and how to effectively enforce workplace safety laws in the coal mining industry. Senator Rockefeller is not a Member of the Senate HELP Committee, but was asked to participate in the hearing by Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA).
I want to thank Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and all my colleagues on the Committee for allowing me to participate in this timely hearing the day before Workers Memorial Day.
Workplace safety is important in all industries – but it is absolutely critical in those industries where the risks of injury are great and the consequences of poor safety are severe.
Sadly, we have been here before – after the tragedies of Sago and Aracoma. I had the honor of joining the Committee then.
And it meant a lot to the families of the miners lost in those tragedies when several members of this Committee (Enzi, Kennedy, Isakson), came to West Virginia at the time to see the essence of my state up close.
Following those tragic events, we vowed to improve safety in the mines, and we came together to pass the bipartisan MINER Act – a good piece of legislation that did improve safety and rescue response – the most significant federal mine safety legislation since 1977.
But it is clear we must do more. We must honor the sacrifice of the 29 brave miners killed at the Upper Big Branch mine by learning from this terrible tragedy and making mining safer.
First and foremost, safety is about a company doing the right thing to develop a true culture of safety.
We need to find out what is working in safe mines (because there are companies doing the right thing every day and we cannot forget that). And we need to know what is not working in dangerous mines.
Because the mine operators who show no regard for safety should not be allowed to gain a competitive advantage by risking the lives of their employees.
Safety is also about state and federal governments stepping in and toughening up our laws – and providing the resources and the people to enforce those laws.
We will learn a lot from MSHA’s investigation into the tragedy, but many problems in our system are already quite clear.
1) We know that MSHA can issue immediate withdrawal orders for imminently dangerous violations. But we need to find out if MSHA is doing all it can to find them and if it is using its authority to the fullest extent.
2) Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has a backlog of more than 16,000 cases consisting of 82,000 violations.
That must change—we must reduce the appeals backlog as soon as possible and put an end to the loopholes in the law that allow some mines to put profit over safety.
3) We also need to improve MSHA’s enforcement efforts and determine what new authorities the agency may need, such as subpoena power or enhanced criminal penalties.
And 4), there is also more work to do to protect whistleblowers. No one should fear losing their job because they are trying to make the workplace safer.
We are all committed. The president is committed. So, let’s get down to business. Mr. Chairman, Thank you for having me here. I am grateful and I look forward to working with you on this important issue going forward.
You Tube Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4qrYknRBjI
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