4007 AMS NR S2625.1

HJM 4007 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water

ADOPTED 03/04/2004

Beginning on page 1, line 10, strike all material through "Washington." on page 3, line 19 and insert the following:

"WHEREAS, Since the birth of this country, our nation owes our coal miners a debt we could never begin to repay for the difficult and dangerous job they perform so we could have the fuel we need to operate our industries and heat our homes; and

WHEREAS, The energy needs of communities throughout the nation have been met due to the hard work and dedication of American coal miners; and

WHEREAS, Millions of workers toiled in the nation's coal mines over the last century, risking both life and limb to fuel the nation's economic expansion, and through their manual labor made possible the technological conveniences of modern American life, though those contributions to the nation's welfare are generally unknown to the public; and

WHEREAS, During the last century, over 100,000 coal miners have been killed in mining accidents in the nation's coal mines, and 3,500,000 coal miners have suffered nonfatal injuries; and

WHEREAS, 100,000 coal miners have contracted Black Lung Disease as a direct result of their toil in the nation's coal mines; and

WHEREAS, Coal provides 50 percent of the nation's electricity and is an essential fuel for industries such as steel, cement, chemical, food, and paper; and

WHEREAS, Coal miners keep the nation supplied with an energy resource that produces electricity for the lowest cost, when compared to fuels other than nuclear, and which makes possible the country's unmatched productivity and prosperity; and

WHEREAS, Coal miners provide a vital pool of labor with the expertise to produce energy supplies from vast national coal reserves, which serves to buffer the country from a dangerous dependence on foreign energy fuels; and

WHEREAS, The United States has a demonstrated coal reserve of more than 500,000,000,000 tons, with an estimated 275,000,000,000 tons of recoverable reserves which, at current production rates, represents about 275 years of recoverable coal reserves; and

WHEREAS, These coal reserves represent about 95 percent of all fossil fuel reserves in the United States, about one-fourth of the world's known coal reserves; and

WHEREAS, Approximately two-thirds of all coal mined in the United States is transported by rail, making coal the largest single source of freight revenue for United States' railroads; and

WHEREAS, Transportation by railroad provided jobs for thousands of workers who built the infrastructure, maintained it, and loaded and unloaded coal; and

WHEREAS, It would be proper and fitting for our nation to recognize our coal miners, both past and present, for their contributions to this nation; and

WHEREAS, Coal mining continues to be the economic engine for many communities, providing jobs to areas with little economic diversity; and

WHEREAS, Coal mining provides an economic benefit far beyond its direct revenue, including billions of dollars in economic output and household earnings and hundreds of thousands of jobs in other industries;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the United States Postal service issue a postage stamp commemorating American coal miners, which would hold the promise of illustrating a colorful and historically rich segment of society for the benefit of school children, stamp collectors, educators, and the public.

BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the United States Postmaster General, the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the United States Postal Service, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington."

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