House Passes Mine Safety Bill Bush Plans to Veto + video family of miners killed at the Crandall

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/16/house-passes-mine-safety-bill-bush-
plans-to-veto/

by Mike Hall, Jan 16, 2008

After listening to the pleas of the families of coal miners killed on the job, the expert advice of health and safety professionals and the strong testimony of union leaders, the U.S. House today voted to strengthen the nation’s mine safety laws.


But ignoring those same pleas, advice and testimony, the Bush administration says it will veto the latest attempt to keep more miners alive, safe and healthy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9ARkEuNux8&eurl=http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=817

Family members of miners killed at the Crandall Canyon Mine tell their stories.


By a 214–199 vote, the House approved H.R. 2768, the S-MINER Act that builds on the 2006 MINER Act that passed in the aftermath of the Sago, Aracoma and Darby coal mine disasters and was the first major mine safety legislation in decades. More coal miners—47—were killed on the job in 2006 than in any year since 1996. A similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).



The legislation is aimed at preventing mine disasters, improving emergency response and reducing long-term health risks such as black lung.



In what can only be described as an absurd take on the bill, the Bush administration’s veto threat claims the bill would “place in jeopardy” mine safety and “impose burdensome” time requirements to improve mine safety rules. (Click here to read how the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is so far behind in developing improved mine safety regulations it is begging for volunteers to help meet safety rule deadlines.)



But as Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, says, coal miners, the families and lawmakers view the legislation quite differently.

Our aim is a simple one: We want to do everything we can to ensure that miners are able to return home safely at the end of their shifts.


FULL story at link.