GOP to Miners: ‘Drop Dead,’ While MSHA Cracks Down On Black Lung, Scofflaws

[marmar]

from In These Times:



GOP to Miners: ‘Drop Dead,’ While MSHA Cracks Down On Black Lung, Scofflaws

Thursday
Dec 9, 2010
6:54 pm

By Art Levine


In an earlier political era, a major mine disaster like the explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 miners might have spurred Congress to take action. Not in today's Washington: Republicans blocked passage of a new bill Wednesday that would have enabled the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to more effectively hold repeat offender mine owners accountable and to better protect miners' lives.

While a majority of Democrats supported the bill, to speed its consideration it required a two-thirds majority—under a "suspension of the rules" vote—that it didn't garner, getting only a slim majority of 214 to 193 votes. Even so, the full House did approve added funding for the agency by adding administrative judges to go through the backlog of 19,000 owner appeals of enforcement actions.

After the vote on the mine safety law, House labor committee chairman Rep. George Miller (D-CA), declared, "I am deeply disappointed that Republicans turned their backs on those who work in mines every day, 600 of whom who have died in the last decade. As other mine tragedies have show us in the past, inaction today is paid for with the lives of hard-working miners tomorrow."

And given the change to a Republican-led House in January, one Hill staffer told In These Times bluntly: "It looks unlikely that any mine safety legislation will get to Obama’s desk." ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6757/house_to_miners_drop_dead_while_mhsa_cracks_down_on_black_lung_scoffla/