The senior Republican from Wyoming, who dispensed with a call by the bill's sponsor for unanimous consent, said his party had been shut out by of negotiations by Democrats until the last minute and, despite what he characterized as progress toward a compromise, he could not support the bill as it now stands. Congress could end its current session as early as Wednesday.
"I think we had agreed on 14 different parts, we still had six that were in the process of negotiation -- but very close -- and seven that the senators themselves would have to work out," said Enzi, the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee, which is considering the bill. "I'm disappointed that was called off -- it was not called off by my staff. I think we could have had a bipartisan bill."
In an interview with Platts as he came off the floor, Enzi declined to name specific sticking points with Democrats, saying he would not negotiate through the press. He sees few avenues to move the current legislation, sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia and other Democrats.
"The lame duck probably keeps anything from happening this year," Enzi said. "There's no reason it couldn't be the first bill out of the box when we come back -- like I said we're in agreement on the large issues and I thought we were just about finished with seven more of them."
Rockefeller introduced legislation in July nearly identical to a companion bill passed by the House Education and Labor Committee along a party line vote earlier this year. The House bill, developed after a blast at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 workers in West Virginia, has
faced stiff opposition from Republicans, the mining industry and the US Chamber of Commerce, which opposed broader workplace safety reforms contained in the bill.
Rockefeller hoped to bring the bill to the floor through a procedure known as unanimous consent in which just a single vote can derail progress toward the next step. As soon as Rockefeller stopped speaking, Enzi rose and voiced his objection, effectively sending the bill back to the House
committee.
Among Rockefeller's goals for the legislation is to "put teeth into" whistle-blower provisions for miners; give the US Mine Safety and Health Administration subpoena powers; create an independent panel to oversee the agency when it conducts investigations and strengthen provisions to target repeat violators of mine safety laws.
"It's ... no secret I'm deeply frustrated on the failure to produce a bipartisan bill -- the families of the Upper Big Branch are wondering what's the hold up, and, quite frankly, so am I," Rockefeller said on the Senate floor. "I want a proactive system that identifies troubled mines before accidents happen and rehabilitates mines that are having problems."
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