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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 8, 1997

      PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES ROBERT H. BEATTY, JR. AS COMMISSIONER 
         AT THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate Robert H. Beatty Jr. to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

Robert H. Beatty, Jr., of Morgantown, West Virginia, is a former coal miner and is currently in the private practice of law in Westover, West Virginia. He served as Administrator of Legal Services for the State of West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training from August 1994 to January 1996. Mr. Beatty is a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of West Virginia Division of Labor and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. From 1977 to 1986, Mr. Beatty worked as an underground coal miner for various corporations, including the Emerald Mines Corporation, United States Steel Corporation, and Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation. Mr. Beatty graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia University and earned his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) was established by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The Act governs compliance with occupational health and safety standards in the nation's surface and underground mines. The FMSHRC is responsible for deciding cases brought pursuant to the Act by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, mine operators, miners or their representatives. These cases generally involve a review of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's enforcement actions including citations, mine closure orders and proposals for civil penalties.

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