In June some additional bills were submitted in the US House of Representatives that would affect Mine Safety Regulations if enacted. Much of what is proposed would only impact underground mining, but others affect the broader mining community such as:
* clarify the authority of inspectors to be free of interference and to issue withdrawal orders in emergencies;
*enhance penalties not adjusted by MINER Act;
* respond to GAO findings of deficiencies in the penalty assessment process;
* and provide MSHA with subpoena power equivalent to that of other agencies.

An overview of the initiative is available on the Committee on Education and Labor's web page at http://edlabor.house.gov/micro/mine_2007initiative.shtml

A pdf statement from Chairman George Miller (D-CA) is at http://edlabor.house.gov/statements/061907GMMineInitiativeStatement.pdf