A Hearing of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the Senate Appropriations Committee

A HEARING OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION OF THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: TO RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON THE UTAH MINE DISASTER AND PREVENTING FUTURE TRAGEDIES

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SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA): Thank you Mr. Chairman. I do have to go preside on the floor. I do have a number of questions I will submit for the record, but I did want to follow up on Senator Specter's comments regarding the information that was given from the site. It was very confusing to all of us whether Bob Murray was primary spokesman or who was speaking or how that was being handled.

And I just wanted to suggest to this committee, from my experience chairing the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee on the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, that they have a far more effective model in making sure that victims' families receive timely information from the government first, and that it is accurate, and that no on speaks on behalf of the government investigators at an aviation accident site. And I would suggest to this committee I would like to work with you, that perhaps we can put that model in place for mine safety.

And I do have a number of questions I would like to submit for all of our people here. The chairman if the Employment Safety subcommittee we have worked on mine safety in the past. Of course, Senator Byrd, we will continue to work with all of you to do the best we can to answer these questions and keep moving forward, so we can assure the families of the miners that we are taking the proper steps to assure that we are doing everything to protect their safety. Thanks very much.

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