mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield myself -- you're supposed to call the bill up. mr. gutierrez: thank you, mr. speaker. the gentleman has nothing to worry about. let the debate begin. we're going to win this debate today. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 1305 and rule 18 the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house for consideration h.r. 2499. the chair appoints the gentleman from california, mr. schiff, to preside over the committee of preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 2499 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to provide for a federally sanctioned self-determination process for the people of puerto rico. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. general debate shall not exceed one hour and 30 minutes with one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and rank

mr. rahall's constituent. he chaired with us how faith can see us all through, especially these families. on this house floor today we join them knowing that 29 brave souls are now in a better place. again our condolences to every member of those families, to the communities. we are all one family here in the mining community. i know mr. rahall expressed that sensement -- sentiment to me as well. in a time like this it's important for the families of west virginia and coal mining community to know that information we are one family with them as well. i hope it's a comfort to them that so many people in our country are praying for them at this sad time. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yield back. the the gentlewoman from washington. the gentlelady is recognized. >> i urge support for this resolution which honors the 29 men who perished in the upper big branch mine. these men were simply doing their jobs. extracting the coal that powers the nation. we recogn

i served in the house for several years with mr. rahal, as to do, ranking member, and again, you're welcome here, congressman rangel. if you'd like to join us up on the floor. or if you'd like to join up here. how do you feel. welcome. now, let me just say to everyone there seems to me to be part of the record in their entirety, i'm going to ask each of our witnesses if they can sum up in about five minutes or so, last. their testimony. we've got i think if i'm not mistaken three different panels. for different panels. we will start first with mr. joe main, who is, excuse me, since i get my papers straightened out here. find out why am. joe main assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, the u.s. department of labor. again, your statement will be made part of the record in its entirety. if you can sum up in five minutes or so i would sure appreciate it. >> chairman harkin, ranking number in the, members of the committee, thank you for inviting us here today. i wish you were under far different circumstances. i do want to pas

mr. rahall: yes, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does? mr. rahall: it was one week and one day ago that a devastating blast in a coal mine -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rahall: one week and one day ago that a devastating blast in a coal mine outside of my home town took the lives of coal miners, one more is hanging on in the hospital. i ask that we have a silent prayer for those who have lost their lives in the tragedy. the speaker pro tempore: the house will observe a moment of silence in respect of those victimized by the tragedy in west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1042 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1042, resolution commending the boise state university broncos football team for winning the 2010 fiesta bowl. the speaker pro temp

mr. rahall from virginia park a welcome you and thank you for being here. the statements will be made a part of the record in their entirety i would appreciate it if you would sum it up in five minutes so we could engage with rounds of questions. mr. roberts will come back to this committee you're no stranger to us and i know you have been going through over the last several weeks. thank you for being here. >> thank you very much mr. chairman and want to thank you for holding the hearing today and thank the committee for the work you did in 2006 and thank you for the compassion you have shown over the years to coal miners involved in tragedies. we're very thankful for the legislation passed in 2006 i want to think senator rockefeller for his lifelong commitment to keep coal miner safe and also senator burr for his hard work for many years of this particular issue and our friend to was here today not only in this instance for hard work, i also want to recognize family members who are here today, they are here and the country of what i don't have to do this a

mr. rahall: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, it is my pleasure to welcome to the house of representatives our guest chaplain today, bishop fred t. symms. pastor and founder of the heart of god ministries in my hometown of beckly, west virginia. it is an honor to have such a distinguished west virginian here with us today and it is particularly fitting to have bishop symms join us in offering the morning prayer on behalf of our congress and our nation on this somber day. today we will act on a congressional resolution honoring the courageous miners who lost their lives in the tragic explosion at the upper big branch mine and recognize the heroic actions of the rescue teams who also risk life and limb to serve for the missing miners. bishop symms was called to the ministry and proached his first message in december of 1997. since that time bishop symms has continued his studies through bible college and the institute of the biblical studies in lynchburg, west virginia. he received his doctorate of divinity degree. h

industry have no greater champion than the chairman of the natural resources committee, chairman rahall. mr speaker, tragedy has visited west virginia's coal mines again. if a -- as a visitor, our state knows all too well the names of the communities changed with each visit and the years as well. monanga in 1907, farmington in 1968, sago in 2006 and now raleigh county, april, 2010. the names change, mr. speaker, but the grief and the sorrow, they stay exactly the same. the mother who lost her son last week is united with the sister who lost her brother in 1968 and the daughter who lost her father in 1907. mr. speaker, shy of two million people live in my state, maybe one in 90 earns a living as a coal miner in the coal fields. most west virginians have never been underground and most never will be. but every one of us lives with the knowledge and the full appreciation of what can go wrong whenever a new shift of miners goes underground. coal mining is not just my state's most important industry, it is central to our culture and our social identity. when tragedy visits one of our communities