Those are key provisions of a new federal mine safety bill that passed the House 214-199 in a primarily partisan vote last week - Democrats for, Republicans against. And they're excellent proposals, guaranteed to make a dangerous occupation safer.
But, like many of the coal miners killed in preventable deep mine accidents, the federal Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2007 will never see the light of day. The sponsors failed to amass a veto-proof majority, and pro-industry President Bush, true to form, has vowed to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.
House Democrats said the bill will save lives. 2007 was another deadly year for the U.S. mining industry - 33 coal miners and 31 other miners perished, including nine at the Crandall Canyon coal mine in Emery County.
Republicans said the legislation impedes the progress and implementation of a 2006 mine-safety bill. That's ridiculous. The new bill makes a good thing better, hastening certain safety provisions and enhancing a law that statistics show didn't go far enough.
Mine workers' unions supported the bill; mine owners opposed it. No surprise there. Production and profit are the priorities for most mine operators.
MSHA officials, the regulators who are supposed to make sure that each and every miner returns home safely at the end of the shift, also opposed the measure. No surprise there either. Bush has stocked the top levels of the agency with former mine executives.
What is perplexing is the reaction of Utah's own Chris Cannon and Rob Bishop, who voted against the bill. Cannon accused the House majority of "micromanaging" America's energy industry. Bishop has said the bill takes "everything to an extreme."
But the deaths of nine Utahns in preventable mine implosions is proof that strong measures are needed to regulate an industry that isn't managed enough. Bush should leave his veto pen in his pocket.
