THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

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

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

Mr. Robert H. Beatty, Jr., of Westover, West Virginia, was appointed on November 13, 1997, to a partial term as a Commissioner on the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Formerly, he was a sole practitioner and a former administrator of Legal Services of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training from 1995 to 1996. Mr. Beatty is a former Assistant Attorney General of the West Virginia Division of Labor, and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Prior to his service as a Field Enumerator for the Unites States Census Bureau in 1990, he worked as an underground miner for various corporations from 1977 to 1988.

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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