Recognizing the tragic loss of life that occurred at the Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois, on its 100th anniversary and the contributions to worker and mine safety that resulted from this and other disasters.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 752) recognizing the tragic loss of life that occurred at the Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois, on its 100th anniversary and the contributions to worker and mine safety that resulted from this and other disasters, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 752 into the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 752, memorializing the 100th anniversary of the Cherry Mine disaster of November 13, 1909, in Cherry, Illinois.

This landmark mine disaster, which took the lives of 259 men and children and left 600 grieving widows and orphans, should not be forgotten. I commend Representative Halvorson for bringing this important chapter in labor history to the Nation's attention.

The fire began in the Cherry Mine after an electricity outage, when burning fuel from a makeshift torch dripped on an underground hay bale. With no firefighting equipment in the mine, workers tried to douse the flames with water from an underground mule stable. The flames grew and the timber structures lining the mine quickly ignited. Some diggers in the lower level noticed the smoke and suggested to their supervisors that they get out. They were told to continue working. Other workers were reluctant to leave for fear of losing income as they were paid on a piecework basis. Company supervisors waited about an hour before making a systematic attempt to alert workers about the fire. Some of the immigrant workers spoke little English and could not understand the orders to evacuate. No fire drill had ever been practiced. At some point, the mine fan reversed, sucking flames further up the shaft. The ventilation system broke and the escape stairway was consumed in flames.

The 259 deaths from this 1909 mine disaster, coupled with 362 killed from the Monongah disaster in West Virginia in 1907, spurred Congress to create the Bureau of Mines in 1910 as a research agency. However, without enforcement powers, the bureau failed to produce significant changes.

In 1947, amidst fierce industry opposition, the bureau was finally given the power to inspect mines. A mine explosion in West Frankfort, Illinois, which took 119 lives, spurred Congress to give the Bureau of Mines the power to close mines for safety violations in 1951. Many more accidents followed until Congress created the Federal Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969. That law requires quarterly mine inspections and authorized fines for violations.

In 2006, miner deaths soared to a 10-year high with disasters at Sago and Aracoma Mines in West Virginia and the Darby Mine in Kentucky. Congress responded by passing the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, the MINER Act, which requires mine operators to provide caches of air, have rescue teams organized, develop wireless communications, and install tracking systems to locate miners who are trapped underground.

This resolution also recognizes the pioneering work of the United Mine Workers in pressing successfully for mine safety reforms in the wake of the Cherry Mine disaster and other disasters like it.

It is often said that our mine safety laws had been written with the blood of miners. That is, it is only after horrific disasters like the Cherry Mine or Sago that progress is made because of the ensuing public outcry.

While improvements have been made in recent years, more work needs to be done to make sure miners return home safely to their families at the end of each shift. Preventable disasters still occur, like the tragic loss of life we saw at Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah in 2007. Although there have been nearly 100 years of effort in Congress since the Cherry Mine disaster to protect underground miners, this resolution reminds us that our work is far from over.

Madam Speaker, once again I express my support for H. Res. 752. I thank Representative Halvorson for bringing

this forward. I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Halvorson), the sponsor of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 752, a resolution I introduced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Cherry Mine Disaster.

The Great Cherry Mine Disaster was a tragic coal mining accident that took place in Cherry, Illinois, which is a small town in Bureau County in my district. House Resolution 752 recognizes the historical significance of this mining accident, which led to the passage of landmark mine safety and worker safety legislation both in Illinois and at the Federal level.

I want to thank Chairman George Miller and Ranking Member John Kline for bringing my resolution to the floor. And I also want to thank Calla Brown, Jody Calemine, and Richard Miller from the majority staff on Education and Labor for working with my staff on this resolution.

Madam Speaker, on Saturday, November 13, 1909, 419 employees of the St. Paul Mine Company showed up to work at the company's coal mine in Cherry. The majority of them were immigrants working to achieve the American Dream. Most were Italian or Slovenian, but others were German, Greek, French, Irish, and British. These workers were represented by the United Mine Workers of America.

In 1909, coal mining was an extremely dangerous line of work. In that year alone, there were 2,642 recorded coal mining fatalities in the United States. Two years earlier, coal mining disasters in West Virginia and Pennsylvania resulted in over 200 deaths. These deaths and disasters were often the result of inadequate workplace safety regulation, which was the case in Cherry.

On November 13, 1909, the workers at Cherry were using kerosene lanterns and torches because of an electric outage in the mine. About 500 feet below the surface, one of the torches ignited some flammable material and the fire spread rapidly. Two shafts were closed in an attempt to smother the fire, which cut off oxygen to many of the workers. The lack of oxygen created a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen known as black damp, which made its way throughout the mine, suffocating many of the workers.

Two hundred of the miners quickly made their way to the surface, but the rest were trapped in the mine. One of the mine managers, a man named John Bundy, led a courageous group of miners back into the mine to rescue their fellow workers. On the seventh trip, Bundy and his rescue group caught fire and burned to death. Another group of 21 miners, who became known as the ``eight-day men,'' managed to survive in the mine for 8 days before they were rescued. When the disaster was over, 259 miners had died, including four children.

The Great Cherry Mine Disaster was the third deadliest mine disaster in American history. The Great Cherry Mine Disaster and other similar mine disasters moved lawmakers to enact landmark mine safety and worker safety reforms. In 1910, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation requiring mine operators to maintain firefighting equipment and certain mine workers to pass safety tests. Also that year, Congress passed legislation creating the U.S. Bureau of Mines. In 1911, Illinois enacted its first worker compensation law.

The United Mine Workers and organized labor played a very important role in pushing for these reforms. Over the last century, we have made great progress on mine safety, but we still have more work to do. We learned this the hard way with the tragic Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia in 2006, which killed 13 coal miners.

As we move forward, we need to continue to update and improve our Nation's mine safety laws. House Resolution 752 honors the memory of those who lost their lives in the Great Cherry Mine Disaster and recognizes the important mine safety reforms enacted as a result of this and similar disasters. As we look into the future, it's important that we always remember the important lessons of the past.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting House Resolution 752.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of House Resolution 752, recognizing the tragic loss of life that occurred at the Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois, on its 100th anniversary and the contributions to worker and mine safety that resulted from this and other disasters.

On November 13, 1909, 400 miners went to work at the Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois. This mine was one of the first to have electric lighting, but on the day of the disaster, the system was not working. Instead, miners were using torches to light their way. Mules were being used to bring coal to the mine elevator, and the hay to feed those mules provided the fuel that started the fire that ultimately killed 263 miners. Miraculously, 200 miners working that day escaped. Even more amazing, though, 21 miners survived for 8 days underground with no food and little water.

In order to suppress the fire, those above ground sealed the mine. Conditions below ground deteriorated rapidly. Led by mine manager George Eddy, the 21 miners who survived went into the recesses of the mine to escape the fire and seek good air. Ultimately, the miners barricaded themselves deep in the mine, attempting to block out the bad air. They were able to pool water from seepage in their shelter.

The tragedy of the Cherry Mine has sadly been repeated in one form or another throughout the history of mining. With this resolution, we honor those lost in the mine. We also honor those who demonstrated their courage and resolve in the face of the tragedy. Just as we see in today's miners, those trapped in the mine fought hard to stay alive. The men above ground did everything they could to put out the fire with the hope of saving their fellow workers.

I rise today to recognize the loss at the Cherry Mine and to honor those who work in our mines today. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.