On Tuesday the Pennsylvania State House adopted a resolution to urge the United States Postal Service to issue a coal miners postage stamp.

Pennsylvania House Resolution 873, sponsored by Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski D-Luzerne and 83 other legislators including House Speaker Keith McCall D-Carbon, is intended to honor the memory of all the nation's miners who have lost their lives working to provide the fuel to meet the country's energy demands and maintain its economic stability."Year after year, petitions have been distributed and thousands of people have signed those petitions recognizing that over 100,000 coal miners died as they excavated the fuel for our country's industrial revolution," Pashinski explained.Pashinski said the Coal Miners Stamp Committee of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the state-formed Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee have agreed to begin a nationwide campaign to educate and inform the American public on the stamp project."It is very important to recognize the historical contributions made by the American Miner and explain how every American can take an active role in preserving this great history by casting their vote and promoting this project to other Americans," Pashinski said.Although the Resolution was clearly aimed to support Pennsylvania's historic coal heritage, the text of the document focused on the continuing riskiness of coal production and its most recent tragedy.HR 873 has the following Short Title, "A Resolution honoring the coal miners who perished at the Upper Big Branch Mine-South in Raleigh County, West Virginia, by extending condolences to the families of the fallen coal miners and the people of West Virginia; and urging the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend to the United States Postal Service that, in recognition of the deaths of more than 100,000 miners, an image of an American coal miner be placed on the face of a United States postage stamp."Sponsors of the legislation are: Pashinski, Barbin, Barrar, Belfanti, Beyer, Bishop, Boback, Bradford, Brennan, Brooks, Caltagirone, Clymer, Conklin, D. Costa, Creighton, Daley, Day, Deluca, Denlinger, Deweese, Digirolamo, Donatucci, Ellis, D. Evans, Everett, Fairchild, Fleck, Gabler, George, Gergely, Gibbons, Gingrich, Godshall, Goodman, Grell, Grove, Grucela, Harhai, Harhart, Harkins, Hennessey, Hess, Hornaman, Killion, Kirkland, Kortz, Kula, Levdansky, Mahoney, Mann, Markosek, Marsico, Mccall, Melio, Micozzie, Millard, Mirabito, Moul, Mundy, Murphy, Murt, Mustio, Myers, Oberlander, O'neill, Parker, Phillips, Pickett, Quinn, Readshaw, Reichley, Rock, Sainato, Santoni, Scavello, Seip, Siptroth, K. Smith, Solobay, Sonney, Staback, Stevenson, Swanger, R. Taylor, Thomas, True, Vulakovich, Watson, White and Youngblood.An online petition to issue a commemorative coal miners stamp is at:

www.petitiononline.com/stamp.