THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT BYRD.

Washington, D.C…. U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is once again aggressively pursuing funding to help improve health and safety conditions for coal miners. Byrd, who is the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, oversaw that panel’s approval of nearly $155 million for coal mine safety enforcement. Now that the legislation has been approved by the Committee, the next step is debate before the full Senate.

“As long as there are miners in the field, we share a moral responsibility to do all that we can to make sure they return home safely to their families,” Byrd said. “I am hopeful that we will look back on this period and see that mine safety took a major leap forward.”

The Committee rejected the president’s budget proposal to cut $10 million from coal enforcement, and instead increased funding by $4.4 million above last year. The funding would enable the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to continue to hire enforcement personnel in order to fulfill its health and safety responsibilities, such as completing 100 percent of statutory inspections. Since 2006, Byrd has successfully increased the coal enforcement budget by $38 million. As a result, the agency has made progress in hiring 322 enforcement staff, and increased the total number of inspectors from 587 in June 2006, to 750 in May 2008.

“I am pleased to note that MSHA has made advancements in hiring enforcement personnel. After too many years of neglect in the president’s budgets, there are visibly and noticeably more inspectors in the coal fields today, and additional inspectors are on the way,” Byrd said. “That’s real, tangible progress. We must continue it.”

The funding would also enable MSHA to continue to implement the mandates of the MINER Act, which is a law crafted in response to the string of deadly coal mining incidents in early 2006, including the Sago explosion in Upshur County, W.Va., and the Aracoma Alma fire in Logan County, W.Va. Two years ago, Byrd led a bipartisan coalition that wrote and passed the MINER Act, which President Bush signed into law on June 15, 2006. The legislation promotes emergency preparedness, better enforcement, and faster rescue in case tragedy strikes.

“As coal production increases across the nation, and MSHA struggles to implement the mandates of the MINER Act, the Congress must ensure sufficient funding to ensure that each and every mandate is enforced,” Byrd said. “I refuse to accept the argument that MSHA can now afford to cut back its budget for coal enforcement. We must provide MSHA personnel with everything they need to do their jobs.”

Byrd also noted the addition of $2 million for MSHA to increase spot inspections in order to minimize respiratory illnesses like black lung. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported alarming clusters of rapidly progressing black lung around southern West Virginia. MSHA is required to report to the Committee by March 31, 2009, on the feasibility and efficacy of MSHA assuming responsibility for collecting dust samples, and using single, full-shift measurements instead of averages to ensure compliance with the law.

The legislation also includes $50 million for mine safety research at the NIOSH to help advance the development of health and safety technologies. With the funding the Committee has provided since the Sago tragedy, NIOSH has unveiled an improved Self-Contained, Self-Rescuer (SCSR) that allows miners to replace their oxygen supply without removing their SCSR. NIOSH has also announced progress on more durable and survivable communications systems, and completed critical studies of seals and refuge alternatives, which MSHA has used as the basis for its regulatory proposals.

Byrd also included:

· $2 million over the president’s budget request for the National Mine and Safety Academy in Beckley, W.Va., to train new inspectors, and to provide for online training programs and infrastructure improvements;

· $1.9 million for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Career Centers in Beckley, W.Va. and Washington, Pa., to continue mine rescue team training;

· $1 million above the President’s request for the MSHA Approval and Certification Center in Triadelphia, W.Va., to expedite the testing and approval of new communications, refuge alternatives, and other safety equipment;

· $3 million for the Mining and Industry Safety Technology and Training Innovation Center at Wheeling Jesuit University in

Wheeling, W.Va., to explore the application of federal and international mine safety technology.