Mine Safety: Implementing the MINER Act of 2006

Committee Report: MINER Act Implementation Proceeding Too Slowly

The first in a series of interim staff reports by the Education and Labor Committee concludes that the Mine Safety and Health Administration is progressing too slowly in enacting important life-saving provisions of the MINER Act and is not addressing many other critical hazards that threaten miners’ health and safety. 

Concern About Implementation of MINER Act

Committee Chairman George Miller wrote to U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao on February 1, 2007 to express his concerns with the Department's progress in implementing the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, signed into law last June.

MINER Act of 2006

In 2006, under a Republican-controlled Congress, Congressman George Miller and other Democrats took bold steps to alert the public and Congress to the need for action on mine safety.

These efforts met with some success in mid-2006 when the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. While limited, the law requires the industry and the administration to take actions critical to saving the lives of underground coal miners.

This Committee will monitor the progress of implementation of the MINER Act of 2006.