Political Quotes

“Knowing, Mr. Chairman, of the gentleman's commitment to families, and I know that the gentleman's family is committed to their children, I am totally shocked that this amendment will be addressed tonight on the floor of the House. This amendment, my friend, would cut personnel. Mothers and fathers will be directly affected by this. This amendment will cut the personnel whose responsibility it is to ensure the safety and health of our Nation's coal miners. The proposed amendment, my friend, would cut the Mine Safety Health Administration coal enforcement personnel by 10 percent, would result in the Mine Safety Health Administration being forced to violate Federal law because it would be unable to fulfill its statutorily mandated duty to inspect underground coal mines every 3 months. We have seen what happens, my friends, when mandatory inspections are cut back and the number of experienced mine inspectors are reduced to coal miners that cut corners on safety. Following the massive explosion in 2010, at Upper Big Branch, which killed 29 coal miners in the worst coal mine disaster in the country in four decades, investigators found that mine management had consistently violated basic safety standards such as ventilation and rock dusting intended to prevent coal dust explosions. The number of violations at this mine were among the highest in the Nation.…”