President Bush announced Friday his intent to designate Stickler as the "acting" assistant secretary of labor over MSHA, four days after the expiration of Stickler's recess appointment as the temporary agency boss.
"I'd like to thank the president for his designation today, which will allow us to continue our progress on completing the implementation of Congress' safety improvements,'' Stickler said.
The original appointment was made late in 2006 while Congress was in recess and after the Democratic-controlled Senate refused to approve his nomination. Senate Democrats and mine-safety advo- cates challenged Stickler's credentials, citing his lengthy career in the mining industry.
Those criticisms intensified during and after August's Crandall Canyon mine disaster, when nine Utah miners died in a pair of violent implosions of the mine's walls. The soft-spoken Stickler seemed to retreat into the background as mine operator and co-owner Robert Murray made disputable statements about the disaster's cause and conducted a failed rescue operation that included taking members of the news media underground.
At a subsequent congressional hearing, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., accused Stickler of "tepid" enforcement of mine safety regulations. "What the hell is the problem at MSHA?" Byrd added.
Stickler defended his dedication to mine safety in responses to the Senate subcommittee and in later remarks to news media organizations, including The Salt Lake Tribune.
He cited the agency's efforts last year to implement several measures of the Miner Act, which Congress passed after three deadly mine accidents early in 2006. Stickler also said he stood up to Murray, particularly after the mine operator had some verbal confrontations with family members of the Crandall Canyon victims, pointing out that he asked Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon to keep Murray away from the grieving families.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, one of three congressional bodies investigating the disaster, on Friday decried Bush's plan to keep Stickler on the job.
"The White House has again gone behind the Senate's back to install Mr. Stickler as head of the agency that is supposed to protect our nation's miners. After almost a year and a half of Mr. Stickler's stewardship, MSHA remains an agency in crisis and in need of strong leadership," he said in a statement. "I urge the president to send us a nominee who will give our brave miners and their families the kind of effective safety enforcement they deserve."
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao defended Stickler in a message sent to all MSHA employees, contending his implementation of the Miner Act and hiring of 273 new mine inspectors "have led to increased enforcement and accountability throughout the mining community."
mikeg@sltrib.com
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* THOMAS BURR and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this report.
