Capito Requests Meeting on Mine Safety

Press Release

Yesterday, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R.W.Va., officially requested a meeting with Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Heath Joseph Main and Congressman John Kline, R-MN., Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, to discuss what additional tools MSHA needs to successfully improve mine safety, as well as what steps they have taken to improve enforcement under existing law.

Capito has long stated that Congress should not pass expansive mine safety legislation without knowing all of the facts. On January 19th, MSHA released preliminary findings of their investigation into what caused the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine last April, but many questions still remain unanswered

"Simply putting laws on the books and expanding agency power does not in itself protect our miners. We must gather input from all parties involved--from companies to the agencies regulating them--in order to craft effective mine safety legislation. I am requesting a meeting with Secretary Main and Chairman Kline in order to jumpstart the conversation on what steps we need to take to improve the safety of our miners," stated Capito. "No one wants to see another tragedy like the one at Upper Big Branch mine. It is our responsibility as policy makers to ensure that workers never have to sacrifice their lives for their livelihood. That's why we need to make sure legislation truly addresses the shortcomings in our safety laws."

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