Republican offers alternative miner safety bill
West Virginia Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito last week introduced mine safety legislation, presenting it as an alternative to sweeping legislation from Democrats.
The Mine Safety Accountability and Improved Protection Act (H.R. 5788) removes some provisions of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 (H.R. 5663), including those that would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Many Republicans objected to the provisions, saying OSH Act changes should not be included in a mine safety bill.
While acknowledging the Miner Safety and Health Act was a "good starting point" following the deaths of 29 miners last April at a West Virginia mine, Capito said in a press release that "sweeping regulatory reform does not automatically ensure miners' safety."
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)