Hill Heat

On Tuesday, July 13, 2010, the Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on “H.R. 5663, the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010.” H.R. 5663 will bring our nation’s mine health and safety laws up to date, give MSHA the ability to effectively protect miners’ lives, hold mine operators accountable for putting their workers in unnecessary danger, and expand protections to all other workers by strengthening OSHA.

In April, 29 miners were killed at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, the worst coal mine disaster in America in 40 years. In the last decade, more than 600 miners have died while working in our nation’s mines.

Witnesses

PANEL I

• Joe Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor
• Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor
• Patricia Smith, Solicitor of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor

PANEL II

• Larry Grayson, Professor of Mine Engineering Penn State University
• Lynn Rhinehart, General Counsel, AFL-CIO
• Cecil Roberts, President United Mine Workers of America
• Jonathan Snare partner, Morgan Lewis testifying on behalf of the Coalition for Workplace Safety
• Stanley “Goose” Stewart, coal miner, Chickasaw Village W.Va.
• Bruce Watzman, Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, National Mining Association

The purpose of this field hearing is to examine the command structure, including roles and responsibilities, for the response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, which was deemed a spill of National Significance.

• Col. Michael Edmonston, Deputy Secretary, Superintendent of State Police, Public Safety Services, Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections
• Frank V. Hibbard, Mayor, Clearwater, Florida
• Rear Admiral Peter V. Neffenger, Deputy National Incident Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security
• Juliette N. Kayyem, Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Ray Dempsey, Vice President of Strategy, BP America

Louisiana Supreme Court Building
400 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA

The Sierra Club holds a conference call, beginning at 3:30 p.m., to discuss experiences touring the oil damage in the Gulf Coast with national religious leaders.

Speakers

• Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, founder of Interfaith Power and Light
• Rev. Gerald Durley, pastor at Providence Missionary Baptist Church
• Fr. Dan Krutz, Episcopal priest and director of Louisiana Interchurch Conference
• Rev. Jim Wallis, editor in chief of Sojourners Magazine
• Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
• Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell of the Progressive National Baptist Convention
• Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America
• Lynn Hybels, co-founder of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago
• Rev. Kris Peterson, pastor of Bayou Blue Presbyterian Church
• Rabbi Julie Schonfeld of the Rabbinicial Assembly
• Pastor Chris Seay, senior pastor of Ecclesia Church
• Susan Stephenson, executive director of Interfaith Power and Light

CONTACT: Orli Cotel, 415-977-5627, [email protected]

Call in, 888-228-9795; conference ID# code: 86171908. RSVP to [email protected]

President Barack Obama has invited senators to the White House to discuss comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

Attendees:

• Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
• Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
• Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
• Senator Mark Begich (D-AK)
• Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
• Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
• Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
• Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
• Senator Tom Carper (D-DE)
• Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
• Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
• Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH)
• Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
• Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
• Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
• Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)
• Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
• Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
• Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
• Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
• Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
• Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
• Senator George Voinovich (R-OH)

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• Honorable Deborah A.P. Hersman, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board

Panel 2

• Tim Felt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Colonial Pipeline Company, representing the Association of Oil Pipelines
• Rocco D’Alessandro, Executive Vice President of Operations, Nicor Gas, representing the American Gas Association
• Gary Sypolt, Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Energy, representing the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America
• Carl Weimer, Executive Director, Pipeline Safety Trust

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Scott Brown, U.S. Senate

Panel 2

• Ken Salazar, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior

Panel 3

• Marilyn Heiman, Director, U.S. Arctic Program and Offshore Energy Reform Project, The Pew Environment Group
• David Welch, President, Stone Energy Corporation

Witnesses

• Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
• Michael R. Bromwich, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement

Witnesses

Panel 1

• David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, Office of Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy

Panel 2

• Frederick Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO, FedEx Corporation
• Kathryn Clay, Director of Research, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
• Brian Wynne, President, Electric Drive Transportation Association
• David Friedman, Research Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Alan Crane, Senior Program Officer, National Research Council