On the recordApril 5, 2011
It was exactly 1 year ago today that an explosion ripped through Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, killing 29 workers. It was the deadliest mine accident in 40 years. But perhaps ``accident'' is the wrong word to characterize what happened in Montcoal, West Virginia, last year April 5. This wasn't a hurricane, it wasn't a tsunami or some other act of nature. Although the Mine Safety and Health Agency, MSHA, has yet to complete their investigation, it is absolutely clear from the preliminary reports that this tragedy was avoidable but for negligence and carelessness on the part of Massey Energy. When Chairman Miller and I traveled to West Virginia with Congressman Rahall, miners told us that Massey routinely cut corners on safety. And yet the miners were afraid--they told us this too--to come forward for fear of losing their jobs. That's why we need stronger Federal whistleblower protections, Mr. Speaker. MSHA inspectors can't be everywhere all the time. So we need to rely on the people who know best. We need to rely on the workers, those that can report safety violations, because they are living with them. We must ensure that these workers have job protection when they come forward. The questions we need to be asking ourselves are what can we be doing to make sure this does not happen again to them?…
