U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd is wielding his considerable influence as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure that the federal government adequately funds mine-safety programs.
Byrd recently oversaw the committee's approval of nearly $155 million for coal-mine safety enforcement. The measure awaits action in the full Senate.
Much of Byrd's efforts have been directed to deflecting attempts by the administration to reduce funding for coal safety.
The Committee rejected President Bush's budget proposal to cut $10million from coal enforcement, and instead increased funding by $4.4 million above last year. Since 2006, Byrd has successfully increased the coal enforcement budget by $38 million.  As a result, the agency has made progress in hiring 322 enforcement staff, and increased the total number of inspectors from 587 in June 2006, to 750 in May 2008.
In essence, Byrd is forcing the federal government to put its money where its mouth is. In the wake of the Sago Mine tragedy and the Aracoma Alma fire in Logan County,W.Va., Congress passed and the president signed the Mine Improvement and  New Emergency Response (MINER) Act promoting emergency preparedness, better enforcement of mine-safety laws and more effective responses to mine disasters. However, as memories of those tragedies fade and the government looks to cut spending, funding for the ongoing implementation of the MINER Act is at risk.
That's where West Virginia's senior senator comes in: "As coal production increases across the nation, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration struggles to implement the mandates of the MINER Act, the Congress must ensure sufficient funding to ensure that each and every mandate is enforced," Byrd said. "I refuse to accept the argument that MSHA can now afford to cut back its budget for coal enforcement.  We must provide MSHA personnel with everything they need to do their jobs."
We echo the senator's statement. If the MINER Act is be more than an expedient act of political posturing, adequate funding must be provided to ensure that its inspections and other safety measures are not only fully implemented today, but kept in place tomorrow.
While the powers that be in Washington may have moved on from Sago, the men and women who make their living underground extracting coal to fuel our nation's power grid, and their loved ones who pray each day for their safe return, are relying on the government to keep that commitment.
They have a powerful ally in one Sen. Robert Byrd.
"As long as there are miners in the field, we share a moral responsibility to do all that we can to make sure they return home safely to their families," Byrd said. "I am hopeful that we will look back on this period and see that mine safety took a major leap forward."