Nick Rahall: “Mr. Chairman, I rise in recognition this afternoon of the ultimate sacrifice that thousands of our Nation's coal miners…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in recognition this afternoon of the ultimate sacrifice that thousands of our Nation's coal miners who have perished from the crippling disease known as pneumoconiosis, or black lung, have made to the energy security of this Nation. Today, I rise to extend condolences to the families of coal miners who died as a result of years of inhaling coal dust in our Nation's mines. Today, I rise to give hope to those who on this day descend deep into the Earth to produce a coal which fostered the industrial revolution in this country and which now fires the technological revolution. I rise in humble gratitude to them, and I say, thank you. And I rise in anger as well, Mr. Chairman, because despite the fact that the Congress in 1969 passed landmark legislation to put an end to black lung disease contracted over years of inhaling respirable coal dust in the mines, annually around 1,400 miners still perish from this disease. Yet this administration, the Bush administration, incredibly has proposed a regulation which would allow a fourfold increase of respirable dust in the coal mines. If made final, that regulation would directly translate into more deaths among our Nation's coal miners. I have asked that this proposed regulation be withdrawn.”