Chairman Miller Statement on White House Veto Threat of Mine Safety and Health Legislation

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today in response to a White House threat to veto mine safety and health legislation set for a vote on the House floor tomorrow.

“Congress has been forced to act to improve mine safety because of the Bush administration’s total failure to work aggressively to keep miners safe on the job. The Bush administration has never made mine safety a priority, even going so far as to appoint former industry executives to key positions in the Mine Safety and Health Administration – a clear case of the fox guarding the henhouse. The administration has weakened or rolled back a number of existing mine safety regulations. And now, the White House is offering a series of completely baseless excuses to explain its decision to threaten a veto of this urgently-needed legislation. President Bush should stop playing politics with people’s lives and work with Congress to enact mine safety reforms that were left unaddressed by the MINER Act of 2006.”

Miller is the sponsor of the legislation, the Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (H.R. 2768). For more information on mine safety, click here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853