The "100 Percent Plan" announcement comes after it was reported that Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors had not completed many of their inspections.

In southern West Virginia, one in six inspections had not been completed in 2006, and one in eight had not been done in Illinois and Indiana.

In some cases, instead of doing full inspections, the agency was relying on less thorough spot inspections.

In District 9, which includes Utah, 98 percent of the required inspections were done in 2006, and 100 percent were finished in 2005. MSHA's coal mine safety director, Kevin Stricklin, told senators last week that the district was on track to complete its inspections this year.

At Crandall Canyon, where six miners and three rescuers were killed in cave-ins in August, all of the inspections appear to have been completed.

Assistant Labor Secretary Richard Stickler said the problem in some areas arose because of the high number of inspectors retiring or leaving the agency and being replaced by inspector-trainees who cannot do their own inspections until they complete training.

To meet the goal, MSHA will temporarily shuffle inspectors to districts where there are shortages and authorize additional overtime for inspectors.

"The 100 Percent Plan will ensure that MSHA has the necessary resources to fully enforce the Mine Act," Stickler said in a statement.

- Robert Gehrke