FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 15, 2006

Isakson Joins President At White House
For Signing of Bipartisan Mine Safety Legislation
'I Feel Confident It Will Make Mines Across the Country Safer' 

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today joined President Bush at the White House as the President signed into law a landmark reform bill to improve mine safety and regulation and reduce safety risks for miners across the country. Isakson chairs the Senate subcommittee that has jurisdiction over mine safety, and he is an original co-sponsor of the legislation.

Isakson joined several congressmen, the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the lone miner who survived the Jan. 2 explosion at Sago Mine in West Virginia that killed 12 of his fellow miners. 

"Since my trip to West Virginia five months ago, I have been working with a bipartisan group of Senators on the numerous issues surrounding mine safety.  This bill is the product of months of hearings, in-depth research and intense discussions about how to make mines across the country safer," Isakson said. "I am very pleased this bill is now law. I feel confident it will make mines across the country safer."

Today's legislation will establish a competitive grant program for new mine safety technology, require each mines' emergency response plan to be continuously reviewed and updated and re-certified every six months and raise the criminal penalty cap as well as the maximum civil penalty for flagrant violations.  It also establishes a grant program for manufacturers to develop new and better mine safety technology and ensures that mine rescue teams will be well-trained and available in the event of emergencies. 

In February, Isakson hosted a roundtable discussion on the latest technologies that could make miners safer on the job, including oxygen supplies and underground-to-surface communications.

In January, Isakson met with the families of the 12 miners killed in the Jan. 2 explosion at Sago Mine in West Virginia, toured the exterior of the mine and spoke with officials from the International Coal Group as part of a Senate delegation examining the incident.

"These families are an inspiration, and I have assured them that the legacy of this tragedy will be that we heed the lessons we have learned so that lives are not lost in the future," Isakson said.

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