Floor Statements

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

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join Chairman Pombo as an original cosponsor of this measure, along with the ranking member on our Parks Subcommittee, Representative Donna Christensen. We urge our colleagues to approve H.R. 4882.

While the fighting ended more than 30 years ago, our work as a nation to reconcile with all that took place during the Vietnam Era continues.

Just as the Revolutionary War gave birth to our liberty, and the survival of our Union through the Civil War and two World Wars gave us strength, the lessons of the Vietnam War can grant us wisdom; and while the emotions stirred by that war in the hearts and minds of Americans are many and varied, the journey this Nation has taken with regard to Vietnam resembles nothing so much as a journey of grieving.

We grieve for the fallen, for the bereft families, for the survivors and their painful scars, and for the wounds inflicted on the country and the people of Vietnam.

Mr. Speaker, the experts tell us that there are stages to the grieving process. In those 30 years, we have experienced them each in turn.

The process began with denial and with anger. For a time, we denied Vietnam its rightful place in American history as we denied those who fought and died their rightful place in the pantheon of American heroes. And Lord knows we have felt the anger. To our shame, we directed much of that anger at those who served.

We have also lived through what the experts call the bargaining phase. We

have wished, we have hoped, and we have prayed that things might have turned out differently, that we might, as a nation, have responded differently. We have tried to negotiate away our failures.

And we have surely endured the next phase, the depression that comes with war and with death. Those who returned from Vietnam and the families of those who did not have felt the deep darkness of painful loss. And our Nation, as a whole, has endured a lingering sadness for so much that was lost during that time.

But, finally, Mr. Speaker, we reached the last stage; and it is here that the Vietnam Memorial plays such a powerful role. We have achieved some level of acceptance. We have, however belatedly, begun to treat those who sacrificed for their country in Vietnam with the reverence they have earned, and we have begun to heal. The Vietnam Memorial is a powerful symbol of that healing and an emotional catalyst for it.

The Wall's designer, the amazingly gifted Maya Lin, described her idea for the Wall as a ``rift in the Earth.'' The Wall literally stands as a deep, dark scar on the land, and it represents the deep scar we carry as a nation; but a scar is an important part of healing.

The National Park Service describes the goal of the memorial as ``nourishing national reconciliation,'' and in achieving reconciliation, the Memorial has succeeded beyond even the wildest dreams of its most ardent supports.

More than 20 million people have made the journey to the memorial and the journey through the memorial, leaving millions of personal items in tribute and in memory; and they have felt some measure of healing, of acceptance. Perhaps more important, the Wall, and the reaction to it by the millions who have seen it, has begun to make Vietnam veterans and their families feel some measure of acceptance as well.

The leadership of the House Resources Committee has pledged to work together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that this process of healing and acceptance continues.

A visitors center will broaden and deepen the experience of those who come to the Wall. A visitor center will educate. Visitors can learn about the 57,939 names that were inscribed on the Wall when it was built and the more than 300 that have been added since. The center can offer information regarding the 151 people listed on the Wall who, in making the ultimate sacrifice for their country, were awarded the Medal of Honor, or the 16 clergy members, or the 120 people who hailed from foreign countries. We still have many lessons to learn.

A visitors center can help interpret as well. The center will provide space for a small sampling of the enormous volume of memorabilia left at the Wall, and as more and more visitors bring with them less and less personal experience of the war, a visitors center will provide them invaluable context and meaning.

Fittingly, Mr. Speaker, one end of the Vietnam Memorial points directly toward the grand statue of our 16th President housed inside the Lincoln Memorial. Written on the wall of that memorial are words from Lincoln's second inaugural address, which also speak to the role of the Vietnam Wall:

``With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds.

``To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.''

H.R. 4882 will help finish the work we are in regarding Vietnam. It will help continue the healing provided by the memorial. It will help bind up the Nation's wounds, and we urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Erin Lavery, of Huntington, WV for being named a top honoree in the 2006 Prudential Spirit of Community Award. I would like to congratulate and honor this innovative young woman who has shown exemplary volunteer service in her community.

Ms. Lavery is being recognized for organizing a monthlong nutrition and physical fitness education program that included the use of pedometers by all 1,600 students and faculty at Huntington High School. As an athlete and lifelong volunteer, Erin wanted to help classmates and staff members develop a commitment to healthy eating habits and physical activity. Motivated by the high rate of obesity that is prevalent in West Virginia, she states that she wanted to take a proactive stand to do something about the problem.

Erin had heard about a small pilot program using pedometers at a nearby school, and thought that idea could be of a comprehensive health education program for her entire school. She developed handouts and a video to introduce her program, and then recruited student volunteers to help her distribute pedometers donated by the county health department to all students and teachers, along with sheets for them to record the number of steps taken each week. To encourage participation, Erin publicized the program through

school and community media, and awarded random prizes for turning in completed record sheets. She also hung 252 large posters of nutrition and fitness information all over the school, and arranged for taste tests and fitness demonstrations during lunch. After she had collected and analyzed their data, Erin found that 35 percent of the participants had increased their activity level, and 62 percent said they were more motivated to live a healthier lifestyle.

The program that brought this innovative young woman to our attention--The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards--was created by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 1995 to show youth volunteers that their contributions are critically important and highly valued, and to inspire other young people to follow their example.

Ms. Lavery should be extremely proud to have been singled out from the thousands of dedicated volunteers who participated in this years program. I fully applaud Ms. Lavery for her initiative in seeking to make her community, and West Virginia as a whole, a better place to live, and for the positive impact she has had on the lives of others. She has demonstrated a level of commitment and accomplishment that is truly extraordinary in today's world, and deserves our sincere admiration and respect. Her actions show that young Americans can--and do--play important roles in our communities, and that America's community spirit continues to hold tremendous promise for the future.

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

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, S. 449 is noncontroversial legislation to make it easier for Alaska Native corporations to issue new stock.

Although S. 449 has neither been the subject of a hearing nor a markup in the Committee on Resources, it is sensible legislation which seeks to allow for expanded partition by Alaska Natives in the Native corporations established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. I am not aware of any opposition to S. 449 and urge support for its passage.

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

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

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the legacy left by Thomas Edison is among the most important in American history. Through his generosity, the National Park Service is able to interpret the legacy for future generations, and H.R. 1096 will help further that important goal.

In addition to the sponsor, other members of the New Jersey delegation, including Representatives Rob Andrews, Frank Pallone, Donald Payne, and Bill Pascrell, are to be commended for their efforts in bringing this legislation to the floor.

I urge our colleagues to support H.R. 1096.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and commend him for his excellent leadership on this legislation.

(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

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

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

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I do commend the gentleman from Missouri, Representative Carnahan, for valuing the historic and cultural resources which make his district unique and for seeking ways to interpret and share those resources more broadly.

I spoke with him personally on the phone last night. He is in his district at the current time attending very important activities, but this legislation is just as important to him. Otherwise, he would be here speaking on this personally.

If the study we are authorizing today should support such a move, we look forward to working with Representative Carnahan on legislation to make this area a unit of the National Park System.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1728.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding me this time, and thank him for his leadership and expertise in helping us on mine safety legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise and associate myself totally with the comments just made by the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), and I commend her for the very eloquent manner and touching manner in which those comments were made.

It is with sorrow that we rise today to express the heaviness in West Virginians' hearts. Grief hangs a misty veil across our mountains. Since just the beginning of this year, West Virginia has lost 16 brave coal miners in a nightmarish series of mine tragedies. Sixteen sons gone in the span of a month, 16 souls that too soon slipped the bonds of Earth. These were good and decent men, God-fearing men, brave citizens, caring fathers, loving husbands, loyal friends, and generous neighbors who worked hard to earn an honest wage. They walked in the wake of risk to provide for their families.

These were tough men, made strong not merely by the labor of digging coal, but also by the work of building a Nation.

Coal has long been the lifeblood of America's industrial engine. It has fueled our economic growth. It has reinforced our military might.

But none of this would be possible without the labor of coal miners, who have served our Nation quietly and faithfully for generations, but with precious little thanks. To these men, we owe so much.

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of gratitude, I join with my West Virginia colleagues in offering this resolution and, again, commend the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) for bringing it to the floor. Today we celebrate the courage and stamina of Randal McCloy whose miraculous survival in the Sago mines was a glorious gift. We thank the teams of rescuers who in recent weeks have risked their own lives to save the lives of others in our coal fields. And we honor the memories of these 16 men: Thomas Anderson, Alva Martin Bennett, Jim Bennett, Jerry Groves, George Hamner, Jr., Terry Helms, David Lewis, Martin Toler, Fred Ware, Jr., Jack Weaver, Jesse Jones, Marshall Winans, the two from my congressional district, Don Israel Bragg, Ellery ``Elvis'' Hatfield, whose families I sat with for close to 40 hours in the Melville Freewill Baptist Church as we sang, as we prayed together for a miracle that never happened.

And to the latest two, also from my congressional district, Edmund Vance and Paul Moss. We honor their memories. These brave men have now joined the ranks of so many miners before them who went to their daily shift anticipating the warm and loving hugs of family at day's end, but who emerged instead into the outstretched arms of heaven. May God bless them, their families and their brothers and sisters, still in the mines, who continue to walk in the wake of risk in service to our great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is with sorrow that I rise today to express the heaviness of West Virginia's heart.

Grief hangs a misty veil across our mountains.

Since just the beginning of this year, West Virginia has lost 16 coal miners in a nightmarish series of mine tragedies; 16 sons gone in the span of a month; 16 souls that too soon slipped the bonds of Earth.

These were good and decent men--God-fearing men, brave citizens, caring fathers, loving husbands, loyal friends, generous neighbors--who worked hard to earn an honest wage.

They walked in the wake of risk to provide for their families. These were tough men made strong not merely by the labor of digging coal, but also by the work of building a nation.

Coal has long been the lifeblood of America's industrial engine. It has fueled our economic growth. It has reinforced our military might.

But none of this would be possible without the labor of coal miners who have served our Nation quietly and faithfully for generations, but with precious little thanks. To these men we owe so much.

Mr. Speaker, in that spirit of gratitude, I join with my West Virginia colleagues in offering this resolution.

Together we celebrate the courage and stamina of Randal McCloy, whose miraculous survival in the Sago mines was a glorious gift. We thank the teams of rescuers who, in recent weeks, have risked their own lives to save the lives of others in our coalfields.

And we honor the memories of these 16 men: Thomas Anderson, Alva Martin Bennett, Jim Bennett, Jerry Groves, George Hamner, Jr., Terry Helms, David Lewis, Martin Toler, Fred Ware, Jr., Jack Weaver, Jesse Jones, Marshall Winans, Don Israel Bragg, Ellery ``Elvis'' Hatfield, Edmund Vance, and Paul Moss.

These brave men have now joined the ranks of so many miners before them, who went to their daily shift, anticipating the warm and loving hugs of family at day's end, but who emerged, instead, into the outstretched arms of Heaven.

May God bless them, their families, and their brothers and sisters still in the mines who continue to walk in the wake of risk in service to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, on the evening of January 19, a fire erupted on a conveyor belt at the Aracoma, Alma Number 1 coal mine, in Melville, West Virginia. Black smoke began rolling through that mine. Nineteen miners escaped. Two were missing. It was the beginning of another episode in our recurring nightmare.

West Virginians were still veiled in grief. Still trying to make sense of the loss of 12 miners, taken from us just 17 days before, at the Sago coal mine, in Upshur County. Then it started again.

Media had flooded into Sago. They had covered the waiting, the watching, the praying, and the mourning. Now they were streaming back into West Virginia. And with them, the world was drawn to another coal mining town, this time in Logan County, to witness yet another mine tragedy unfolding.

I stayed with the families, gathered at the Bright Star Freewill Baptist Church. We held hands. We prayed. We believed in the power of miracles. We clung tightly to the hope that those men, dust-covered and weary, would emerge from the Alma mine to the hugs of grateful families.

But, tragically, in the end, our worst fears were realized. Instead of a joyous reunion, our coal communities had lost two more souls. Fourteen men gone in a span of less than three weeks. Two fatal mine tragedies that might have been prevented. Two emergencies that went unreported for far too long. Two anguishing events where time stood still for hours on end, with rescue teams frustrated and idling, and helpless families waiting.

In this age of high-technology, when reporters at the mouth of a mine could beam reports around the Earth in an instant, it defies logic

that we could not communicate with those men just a few thousand feet underground. When electricity was running all types of comfort-giving and life-saving devices around the globe, it was unbelievable that men who toiled in danger to make that power possible were trapped in primitive conditions, untraceable, with just one precious hour of oxygen.

It was in 1969, spurred by another horrific West Virginia mine disaster, that one at Farmington, that the Congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Safety and Health Act, broad, comprehensive legislation to improve the lot of the miner. In 1977, we reinforced that act, giving the labor Secretary immense powers to protect miners.

Since then, much progress has been made. Tragedies such as these have become less frequent. Yet, as technology enabled our Nation to mine much more coal in much less time with far fewer workers, advances that could improve the conditions for workers in the mines were tragically shoved aside. Mine safety funds were cut. Federal enforcement became lax. Indeed, less than three years ago I stood on this floor of the House of Representatives and offered an amendment to halt the Administration's attempt to allow a fourfold increase in the amount of respirable dust in underground coal mines. A regulation, I would note, that would have resulted in more coal miner deaths due to the crippling disease known as black lung.

Yet the miners kept kissing their families goodbye, whispering a prayer for their own safe return, and going into the mines, into the dark, under tons of rock and dirt, to earn an honest wage.

That so many tools available to the Secretary of labor under existing law have been left to just sit on the shelf while miners continue to die underground is inhumane and inexcusable.

It must stop now.

That is the aim of legislation being introduced by the West Virginia Delegation in the House and the Senate.

This legislation provides what apparently is a necessary roadmap to the Secretary of labor of available statutory authorities which can be implemented immediately to improve health and safety in our underground coal mines. A necessary roadmap, I would point out, in light of the numerous improvements, either already on the books or in the proposal stage, this Administration abandoned in recent years. Following my remarks, I would include in the Record an overview and explanation of our legislation, entitled, the ``Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 2006. ``

Mr. Speaker, shamefully the coalfields of our Nation are littered with examples of how tragedy will always arise when the safety of miners is neglected.

Facing his final moments, trapped in the mine as oxygen waned, miner Powell Harmon wrote:

``Dear Wife and Children: My time has come. I trust in Jesus. He will save. It is now ten minutes to 10 o'clock, Monday morning, and we are almost smothered. May God bless you and the children, and may we all meet in Heaven. Good-bye till we meet to part no more.''

That was in 1902, in Tennessee.

Less than a month ago, Martin Toler, Jr., trapped in the Sago mine in West Virginia, left these words: ``Tell all I'll see them on the other side. It wasn't that bad. Just went to sleep. I love you.''

Indeed, today the battle cry of Mary `Mother' Jones, that fiery advocate of coal miner justice during the early part of the last century, rings just as loudly in our ears: ``Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.''

We can take some comfort in knowing that when those 14 West Virginia miners succumbed to the fire at Melville and the toxic gases of Sago, waiting to welcome them on the other side were generations of miners who know and understand their bravery and love.

But we should, as well, feel with unease the fact that the Mine Safety and Health Administration--vested and empowered by the Congress with necessary authorities--still has not done enough to prevent these tragedies, and in fact, has retreated from many advances in health and safety standards over the recent years.

I aim to ensure that the legacy of the Sago and Alma Miners will be the certainty that those laws are not left to idle on the shelf, but are, instead, enforced to the fullest extent. We owe them, their brothers and sisters still in the mines, and those yet to don a miner's cap, nothing less.

West Virginia Congressional Delegation

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 2006

The landmark Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of

1969, as amended by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of

1977, contains sufficient authority for the Secretary of

Labor to update, and enhance, underground coal mine health

and safety regulations. Instead, as the unfortunate incidents

of last month at the Sago and Melville mines in West Virginia

underscored, current Mine Safety and Health Administration

regulations and policies are woefully inadequate on several

fronts, such as their neglect of advances in technologies

that could be deployed to increase the survival of coal

miners involved in emergency situations. The ``Federal Mine

Safety and Health Act of 2006'' mandates action to end the

status quo. The legislation would----

Sense of Congress

The legislation provides that the Mine Health and Safety

Administration should strictly enforce health and safety

standards as required under the Federal Mine Safety and

Health Act of 1977.

Enhanced Rescue Requirements

Require the Secretary of Labor, within 90 days of

enactment, to implement the following:

(1) Better notification--Require underground coal mine

operators to expeditiously provide notification of any

accident where rescue work is necessary, and require that the

Mine Health and Safety Administration implement a system to

immediately receive these notifications.

(2) Rapid emergency response--Each operator would be

required to maintain mine rescue teams whose members are

employed by the operator and who are familiar with the

workings of the coal mine to ensure ``an immediate and rapid

response to an emergency.'' This requirement would be in

addition to existing practice, in which rescue teams from

other mining operations are also used to respond to a given

emergency. Operators would also be required to have a

coordination and communications plan between mine rescue

teams and local emergency response personnel, who, under the

legislation, would be eligible to receive appropriate

training to be familiar with mine rescue work. In addition,

the Secretary is directed to issue regulations to address the

adequacy of rescue team training and member qualifications,

the type of equipment used by the teams, the structure of

teams including the number of each team's members and the

use of contractor teams, as well as liability and

insurance issues.

(3) Emergency air and communications--Each operator would

be required to maintain emergency supplies of air and self-

contained breathing equipment at strategic locations within

the mine for persons awaiting rescue. These devices would be

in addition to the rescuers worn by miners and would provide

air to maintain life for a ``sustained'' period of time.

Operators would also be required to maintain, at these

locations, independent communications systems to the surface

for persons awaiting rescue, including, secondary two-way

telephone or equivalent communication devices to the surface.

(4) Emergency tracking--Each operator would be required to

implement an electronic tracking device for rescue and

recovery, and each person in an underground coal mine would

be provided with a portable device calibrated to communicate

with the surface and with mine rescue teams.

Penalties

Within 90 days of enactment, the legislation requires the

Labor Secretary to prescribe minimum civil penalty of up to

$10,000 for a violation of the health and safety standards in

instances where an operator displays ``negligence or reckless

disregard'' of the standards. This penalty would be assessed

in addition to the Act's existing penalty for failure to

correct a violation. The Secretary is also directed to

provide for a penalty of up to $100,000 in instances where an

operator fails to expeditiously provide notification of any

accident where rescue work is necessary.

Prohibited Practices

The bill reaffirms the existing statute's prohibition on

using entries which contain conveyor belts to ventilate work

areas in underground coal mines. When mines are arranged this

way, and a fire breaks out on a belt, the belt tunnel can

carry flames and deadly gases directly to the miners' work

area, or to vital evacuation routes. This long-standing

prohibition was skirted by an April 2004 Mine Safety and

Health Administration rulemaking.

Technological Advances

Under the bill, an Office of Science and Technology

Transfer would be established within the Mine Health and

Safety Administration to conduct research and development to

advance new technologies for underground coal miner health

and safety. A periodic review of existing health and safety

standards would be required to enable more modern

technologies to be incorporated as they become available.

Miner Ombudsman

Proposed to be established within the Labor Department's

Office of Inspector General, the legislation would create the

position of Miner Ombudsman to ensure that coal miners may

confidentially report mine safety and health violations. The

ombudsman would also be charged with the collection of safety

information, providing information on violations to the Mine

Safety and Health Administration for investigation and the

overall improvement of coal miner safety.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my Special Order at this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in anger and outrage. This very afternoon two more coal miners perished in my home State of West Virginia in Boone County in separate unrelated incidents. This comes on the heels of the 14 coal miners in West Virginia who tragically died in two mines just last month.

The death toll must stop. This is scandalous. The leadership, if I may use that word, of the Federal regulatory authority charged with coal mine safety, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, has apparently completely abdicated its responsibility under this administration.

For the national spotlight to be turned on coal mine safety just last month, for those responsible for coal mine safety to be grilled during a committee hearing held in the other body just last month, yet to remain so aloof and so deficient in meeting their mission and mandate just boggles the mind. It defies logic. It smacks of callous disregard. It is inhumane. It is inexcusable.

Just this morning the West Virginia congressional delegation introduced remedial legislation to force the issue, to compel the Federal agency in charge to do its job, to enforce the coal mine and health safety standards of this Nation. This initiative is high priority for us. The shame is that it now comes on the tears of even more grieving families and this sudden and unexpected departure of two more coal miners. Why is it that every Federal coal mine health and safety law we have on the books is written with the blood of coal miners? The status quo is unacceptable. It is totally unacceptable. It must change.

I now call on the Mine Safety and Health Administration to do its duty and respond immediately to the request the Governor of West Virginia just made in a press conference. Send additional assistance to my State to allow the Mine Safety and Health Administration to do its job. Conduct a massive and comprehensive safety inspection of our mines. We must put an end to this continuing nightmare.

Mr. Speaker, 2006 has not been kind to West Virginia's coal mining communities. First, we lost 12 miners in Sago. Then, just 17 days later, a fire broke out at the Alma No. 1 mine in Melville, trapping two men, untraceable beneath the Earth's surface. I was with the families of Ellery ``Elvis'' Hatfield and Don Bragg while we waited for news of the two men. We clung tightly to the hope that those men, dust-covered and weary, would emerge from the Alma mine to the hugs of grateful families. In the end, our worst fears were realized, and West Virginia lost two more brave souls.

These tragic events must be investigated by the appropriate officials. Meanwhile, with the Governor advancing new laws at the State level, I and the entire West Virginia Congressional delegation led by Senator Byrd, have already begun to respond by crafting legislative proposals at the federal level to make our mines safer places to work. The nation owes it to our coal miners to advance and enforce new and improved safety measures, and I am wholly dedicated to that endeavor.

I and the rest of the West Virginia Delegation, recently met with White House and other federal officials regarding our concern for mine safety laws and future improvements. I have also called on Congress to convene hearings on the Sago and Melville mine tragedies.

Too often in recent years, miners have expressed fears that the agency's safety mission has been diluted by concerns about costs and that the agency is, in fact, rolling back safety and health gains made since its creation. West Virginia miners toil every day to keep our Nation strong and so we are compelled to do all that we can to ensure their safety and well-being. No stone should be left unturned in the efforts to learn the causes of these tragedies. The Sago and Melville communities--and miners across the nation--deserve a full, fair and expeditious look into these critically important issues.

God bless the families who lost their loved ones in these tragedies, and God bless all who toil in our mines every day.

Mr. Speaker, today we mark with sadness the passing of Coretta Scott King, a true patriot in the American Civil Rights Movement. But we also celebrate, together, a life well-lived and remember with fondness the accomplishments of a remarkable woman who, with the sound of a gunshot on April 4, 1968, moved swiftly and strongly from the role of supporting preacher's wife to torchbearer of her husband's mission for equality.

Mrs. King herself once said, following her husband Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, ``Because his task was not finished, I felt that I must rededicate myself to the completion of his work.'' And that she certainly did.

Whether meeting with such pivotal figures in the civil rights movement as the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, her husband's former chief of staff, and Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, or marching with activists from across America, Mrs. King made it clear from early on that the dream of Martin Luther King would live on, as would his legacy.

She lobbied for over 10 years to have her husband's legacy honored and President Reagan finally granted her wish in 1983, when he signed the federal holiday into law.

And determined to ensure Americans did not forget her husband or his dream of a colorblind society, she created a memorial and a forum in the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.

Mrs. King was the matriarch of a movement, a dedicated and loving mother to a family in the face of loss, and a model to us all.

I join my colleagues in support of a House resolution honoring Mrs. King and her contributions and expressing condolences to the King family on her passing.

May we all honor her legacy by collectively taking up the torch she carried so high for so long.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all West Virginians, our hearts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who are trapped in the Sago Mine in Upshur County, West Virginia. We extend our hope that families will be reunited and lives will be saved.

Once again, when it mattered most, West Virginians have risen to the occasion. The men and women who are tirelessly dedicating their efforts to recovering our fellow Americans are to be commended and applauded. The community that is extending their support to the families and friends who are patiently waiting at this critical time are also helping in this difficult and tenuous time.

Though we are all anxiously anticipating their safe return, I urge everyone to take a moment and ask our Creator for his full support in these efforts. As a West Virginian, I am proud of the way both our state leaders and residents have responded to this disaster.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this time to personally congratulate West Virginia University on their victory last night in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. All of us in West Virginia are proud of the players and the coaches for their tremendous effort put forth on behalf of the Mountain State. I would like to personally congratulate Coach Rodriguez, his players and his coaching team on such a ``sweet'' victory. Thanks for making us proud to be Mountaineers.

Mr. Speaker, the House today passed the Pension Protection Act. I voted in favor of this legislation, though with great reservation.

The Pension Protection Act is a comprehensive attempt to reform our Nation's pension laws. Congress is taking up this issue in the wake of several major corporations defaulting on their pension plans. American workers are crying out for assistance as their nest eggs, for which they've worked their entire lives, are shrinking before their very eyes. I don't think anyone can argue the fact that something must be done.

But H.R. 2830 is a far cry from what is needed to place our pension system on a strong foundation. I am concerned that the workers in many of our Nation's oldest industries are going to lose out when this legislative process shakes out. I am concerned that the future of the defined benefit--and the future of the worker's nest egg built through a defined benefit plan--is in jeopardy. And I am concerned that companies will continue to be able to dump their negotiated pension plans through bankruptcy proceedings.

Today's bill does not go far enough in alleviating my concerns.

However, I can tolerate this legislation for the simple reason that it gives us an opportunity to go to conference and improve this bill. And improve it we must--or I will be unable to support final passage on a conference agreement.

Today's debate was a needed and necessary exercise. But as we look to conference, we must remain focused on protecting the retirement dreams, and indeed the American dream, to which so many of our workers look forward.

If the conference report doesn't include the silver lining of pension protection our workers will depend upon in their golden years, I will be unable to support this bill on final passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my opposition to this resolution.

This Ocean Policy Task Force resolution, while well intentioned by its sponsor, is misguided. Its effect would be to deceive the American public into believing that the House of Representatives is actually working to advance the recommendations of two comprehensive ocean policy reports when the opposite is true.

As the Ranking Democratic Member on the Committee on Resources, I staunchly support efforts to restore our ocean and coastal environment. But what we have before us today smells fishy and I urge Members to oppose this ill-advised resolution.

Last September, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy sent up to the Congress a comprehensive report that included over two-hundred specific recommendations to guide the development of a new national ocean policy for the 21st Century.

That report--the first of its kind in over thirty years--handed the Congress an action agenda to finally address the degraded condition of our ocean and coastal resources. The Commission was filled with highly credentialed professionals with expertise in policy, economics, science, technology and resource management drawn from both the public and private sectors and academia.

No one, absolutely no one, questions the caliber of the Commission. For the Congress to assert that it can do a better job in six months time than the experts appointed to the Commission did in three years is absurd.

Moreover, the Ocean Commission's report echoed similar findings and recommendations to those made in the 2003 report released by the independent Pew Oceans Commission, chaired by our former colleague, the Honorable Leon Panetta.

If there was anything that these reports conveyed, it is that this is a pressing national problem.

Unfortunately, rather than rolling up our sleeves and working in a bi-partisan fashion to begin a process of genuine oversight to evaluate the merits of the Ocean Commission's work, months have been allowed to lapse with little, if any, meaningful oversight; without the development of any joint strategy; and absent any leadership by the Republican majority.

I, along with Members from both sides of the aisle, have introduced legislation to implement several of the Commission's recommendations. My legislation, for example, addresses fisheries management, including how the various fisheries management councils can perform in a more transparent and effective manner.

But instead of debating these substantive proposals, the majority leadership trots out a resolution to create a toothless Task Force on Ocean Policy which will only waste precious time.

This is a classic stalling tactic of government--to study an issue to death. Sadly, our oceans could be on life support before this Republican-led Congress acts to implement the Commission's recommendations.

I urge members to support true oversight of the Ocean Commission's recommendations and to oppose this misguided resolution.

Mr. Speaker, 106 days ago, the world watched as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States came crashing down on our Gulf Coast. I spent much of the last weekend in New Orleans, touring the affected areas and speaking with folks about the recovery efforts.

The effects of the hurricane and its aftermath are eerily similar to natural disasters that in recent years have befallen my home state of West Virginia--floods of the 100-year variety.

Displaced families. Businesses boarded up. A sense of despair and unease in the community. Helpless citizens looking for someone, anyone, to provide some guidance to a sound and quick recovery.

The damage done to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, in particular, is well documented. But so are the promises made to those residents who call New Orleans home. And those promises have so far gone unfulfilled.

Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild New Orleans. First and foremost, the levee system, which failed New Orleans' residents in the aftermath of the hurricane, must be upgraded to protect from future 100-year storms. Some estimates put that cost at more than $32 billion--and many in Washington are balking at the price tag.

My question is this: Can't we afford America? We have spent more than $300 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet this Republican Congress doesn't have a concrete plan to rebuild New Orleans, or the budget blueprint to do it. We are investing billions of American taxpayer dollars for bridges, levees and infrastructure in Baghdad, yet we can't get a commitment from our leaders to rebuild the levees in New Orleans for Americans. We have enacted tax cut after tax cut--most recently a $95 billion cut for the wealthiest Americans--yet 78,000 American families displaced by the hurricane are still waiting for FEMA trailers in Louisiana.

And what about West Virginia? Parts of southern West Virginia are still recovering from the major floods of the past five years. Many families displaced by those floods have yet to be able to move back to their homes. And we are still unable to secure the necessary investment from the Corps of Engineers to prevent this kind of flood from ever happening again.

It is long past time to look inward and focus on the many issues confronting Americans in America. The flooding of New Orleans exposed more concerns than just the failure of the levee system. Investment in our schools, health care system, infrastructure and homeland security needs to be high on our list of priorities going forward.

This Administration and this Congress have decisions to make. For the sake of all of us who have been--and will be again--affected by severe flooding, it is my sincere hope that they choose to stand with the American people and invest in the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.