Coal mine safety bills stalled

More than two years after the worst single mining tragedy in 40 years – at Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia – legislation to address some of the conditions that led to that diaster is stalled in Congress. Jim Carroll writes that "There are myriad reasons for that: mining industry opposition to some provisions, ideological differences between Democratic and Republican lawmakers over how much additional power the federal government should have to regulate coal-mine safety, the desire to collect more research on safety issues, and a crowded legislative agenda where there are always other, urgent issues to address."