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WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after President George W. Bush signed S. 2803, the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act:
“This new law is a step in the right direction for mine safety, but much more remains to be done to keep the nation’s miners safe, including employing better safety technologies in the mines.
“For the law to work as intended, it must be vigorously enforced by the Bush administration. Yet since taking office, the Bush administration has had a dismal record of enforcing the mine safety laws already on the books, focusing on so-called ‘voluntary compliance assistance’ instead of tough sanctions for mine operators that break the law and put lives at risk.
“Even today, President Bush showed that he is holding fast in his support for Richard Stickler – an industry insider – to head the federal mine safety agency. This raises serious concerns. The real test of the President’s commitment to mine safety is not the law he signed today, but whether he will finally change course and fully enforce mine safety laws.”
To see Miller’s past statement on the MINER Act, visit:
http://www.house.gov/list/press/ed31_democrats/RelMay25.html.
To see Miller’s statement from earlier this week on the Stickler nomination, visit:
http://www.house.govJun13Stickler.html.
To see a report prepared by Miller on the Bush administration’s failures on mine safety, visit:
http://www.house.gov/list/press/ed31_democrats/rel13106.html.
Congressman Miller is seen here on June 15, 2006 with Amber Helms at a lunch for families and relatives of those killed in the Sago mine explosion. Amber is the daughter of Terry Helms, one of the miners killed in the tragedy.
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