Don Blankenship
\nP.O. Box 1757
\nWilliamson, WV\u00a0 25661<\/p>\n
May 27, 2014<\/p>\n
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin
\n900 Pennsylvania Avenue
\nSuite 629
\nCharleston, WV\u00a0 25302<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Senator Manchin<\/p>\n
Friday\u00a0(May 30) I received a letter from you dated May 13, referencing a\u00a0letter from me that I delivered to your Charleston office about 50 days ago. \u00a0 \u00a0You say in your letter that you are disgusted. \u00a0\u00a0It is not my intent to disgust you. \u00a0 My efforts are an attempt to improve coal miner safety and to help keep the promise of making sure UBB never happens again. \u00a0I am trying to promote a reasoned and productive discussion about mine safety and the actual causes of the UBB tragedy. \u00a0I would appreciate it if you would stop the personal untruthful attacks on me. \u00a0Your references to what the MSHA report says about UBB are irrelevant. \u00a0MSHA’s investigation of UBB is about as valuable to finding the truth of what happened at UBB as would be a President Obama led investigation of what happened at Benghazi.<\/p>\n
The issues here are not you nor your political career. \u00a0The issues are miner safety and free speech.<\/p>\n
The US Attorney’s role is to investigate what happened at UBB for the purpose of holding wrongdoers accountable. This is not your role. \u00a0Your role is to understand what happened at UBB so that you can identify legislative\u00a0enhancements that might improve the health and safety of coal miners going forward. \u00a0These\u00a0separate responsibilities are what our country’s\u00a0founders intended when they set up our three branches of government in 1776.<\/p>\n
The documentary\u00a0and the letter are both\u00a0part of\u00a0my effort as the individual in charge of Massey at the time of the explosion to put forth what happened at UBB and to make legislators such as yourself aware of MSHA policies that\u00a0are still\u00a0endangering\u00a0miner\u2019s\u00a0every day. \u00a0\u00a0At the end of the documentary I identify four critical things that must be done if miners are to be made safer. \u00a0They include turning the scrubbers back on, re-examining UBB with an eye toward what might prevent a similar explosion in the future, empowering NIOSH or some other agency to do unbiased accident investigations instead of MSHA being allowed to investigate\u00a0itself, and using\u00a0NIOSH studies and analytical tests to formulate sound mine regulations instead of using MSHA’s capricious actions to fundamentally change for\u00a0the worse\u00a0proven mining\u00a0practices. \u00a0 These recommended\u00a0actions and process changes will not only improve safety immediately but they\u00a0will also\u00a0lead to dozens of miner safety improvements across the industry on a continuing basis.<\/p>\n
Separately, I would like to invite you to discuss UBB and mine safety with me in an open public forum in a place of your choice. \u00a0 \u00a0I believe such a public discussion would bring needed attention to mine safety and allow you to stand out as a progressive thinker when it comes to such difficult and emotional issues. \u00a0 Please let\u00a0me know if you are willing to have such an open discussion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Don L. Blankenship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Don Blankenship P.O. Box 1757 Williamson, WV\u00a0 25661 May 27, 2014 U.S. Senator Joe Manchin 900 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite 629 Charleston, WV\u00a0 25302 Senator Manchin Friday\u00a0(May 30) I received a letter from you dated May 13, referencing a\u00a0letter from me that I delivered to your Charleston office about 50 days ago. \u00a0 \u00a0You say in your letter that you … <\/p>\n