Durbin Applauds Passage of Mine Safety Legislation

DURBIN APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF MINE SAFETY LEGISLATION

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said he was encouraged by the passage of legislation which he cosponsored to help protect the lives of miners in Illinois. The Mine Safety Tax Relief Act of 2006, which was included as an amendment to the Tax Reconciliation Act, will provide tax credits and incentives to encourage coal companies to invest in mine safety equipment and training.

"The recent tragic events in West Virginia and Kentucky have captured the nation's attention and exposed the serious dangers our miners face every day," said Durbin. "This bill gives coal companies strong incentives to invest in new technology and improved equipment to protect those miners. We have more than 3,500 miners in Illinois. We owe it to them and to their families to ensure all 25 mines in operation in Illinois are well equipped and adequately prepared. In addition to these economic incentives, we must make certain that our mines are carefully and regularly inspected."

The legislation encourages mining companies, through tax incentives, to purchase safety equipment, including communications technology that allows operators above to communicate with miners below, in case of accidents, electronic tracking devices which allow operators to know where miners are, breathing devices, and mine atmospheric monitoring equipment. The legislation encourages these investments by providing mine operators with a tax deduction in the amount of 50% of the cost of the equipment purchased.

The bill also encourages mine companies to form rescue teams where they don't exist and increase the number of mine rescue team members trained where teams are already in place. For decades the coal mining industry had been shrinking and mines were being closed, resulting in a formation of fewer mine safety teams across the country. Coal mining in America and in Illinois has seen a recent resurgence in the past two years, causing new mines to open, and necessitating the creation of additional mine rescue teams. Mining companies would be provided with a tax credit, of up to $10,000 for each mine rescue team member trained. The credit would offset approximately 20% of the cost of training a miner to serve on a mine rescue team.

Durbin noted that the legislation also provides incentives for mine operators to act now because the tax credit provisions will only be available for 3 years, starting with the 2006 tax year.

Durbin has also written to state and federal agencies responsible for overseeing mine safety asking them for a review of mine safety records in Illinois and elsewhere. In his letters he asked the agencies to examine two issues - the impact funding cuts for mine safety inspections have had on mine safety, and a status report on safety conditions at all of Illinois' mines. President Bush has proposed cuts to the federal coal safety inspection budget in four of the five years he has been in office. Analysts say that those reduced budget numbers have accounted for the loss of 130 mine inspectors since 2000.

The mine safety proposal, which was authored by Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), was offered as an amendment to the tax reconciliation bill, and was approved by the Senate late Thursday night. The bill now goes to a conference committee where the Senate and House versions of the bill will be reconciled.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=251198&&