The vote

Here’s the headline on this morning’s front page of the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

W.Va Reps. Vote to Cut MSHA Funds

And here’s the subheading:

Congressmen, all Republicans, cite ‘rightsizing’ mine safety amid coal industry’s decline

Ken Ward, Jr. reports:

As coal mining deaths in West Virginia increase this year, all three of the state’s U.S. House members voted this week for additional cuts in the coal mine safety enforcement budget for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Reps. David McKinley, Evan Jenkins and Alex Mooney, all R-W.Va., voted in favor of a budget amendment that would have slashed funding and staff at MSHA’s coal division by 10 percent for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

And these cuts were in addition to previous cuts:

MSHA's coal enforcement budget had already been facing a $3 million cut proposed by President Donald Trump and an $8 million cut included in a House committee's appropriations bill. The $149 million proposed by the committee amounted to nearly 7 percent less than the current budget. The Meadows amendment would have cut another 10 percent from the committee's proposal.

Despite the votes of WV’s representatives, the budget amendment did not pass. (It would appear that some Republicans in non-coal states who were not beholden to coal owners voted against the amendment.) Congressman McKinley explained his reasons for voted to cut mine safety funding:

McKinley said he voted for the Meadows' amendment because the number of coal mines in the country has dropped by more than a third, while MSHA's inspection force has "remained relatively steady."

"If there are fewer mines to inspect, it would make sense that MSHA shouldn't require the same numbers of inspectors," McKinley said through a spokesman.

United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts responded to the vote:

"We stand ready to continue to work with Congress, the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the coal industry to enhance safety," Roberts said. "But cutting back on safety and health merely to encourage enhanced production puts miners at risk and should never be allowed. We have lost too many miners to ever forget that the most important resource to come out of a mine is the miner, not the coal."

Is McKinley trying to hide his vote?

If the congressman is voting for his constituents, I would think that he would do everything to explain and publicize why he voted the way he did. To that end, I checked the representative’s government web page, his Facebook page, and his Twitter feed to see what he had to say about his vote to cut funding from mine safety.

On his House of Representatives web page, the latest post on his “In the News” link is from September 5 and his latest press release came in July.

His Facebook page highlights yesterday’s vote to pass the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act. On Wednesday, McKinley introduced “a bipartisan resolution recognizing September as National Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month.” Wednesday was also the day he voted to cut mine safety funding but there is no mention of it.

Yesterday, his Twitter feed mentioned only the passage of the alien gang bill. The previous feed dates to September 13. There is nothing about his MSHA vote.

Mine safety is significantly more important to West Virginians than alien gangs. Why doesn’t McKinley explain or even mention his vote?

While Representative McKinley has fought for miner pensions and coal mining in general, I believe his primary allegiance is to mine ownership. Coal companies and their trade associations do more than give him awards; they make significant contributions to his political campaigns and they hopefully invite him to events like the meeting mentioned in the previous post so that he can attach himself to even more coal money. Safety costs the mine owners money. There’s a reason McKinley doesn’t mention his vote – it clearly demonstrates who owns him.

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Hat tip to Ken Ward Jr.

A note on coal stories: while trade publications detail some of the day-to-day happenings in the coal industry, more general reporting about the coal industry, particularly as it applies workers and consumers, is often difficult to find. If it were not for Ken Ward Jr. at the Charleston Gazette-Mail, this and many other important coal stories would go unreported; Ward’s news coverage and his blog, Coal Tattoo, are essential reading for anyone hoping to stay informed about coal.

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9/16 Update -- Senator Manchin's reaction

WV Senator Joe Manchin commented yesterday on the WV reps vote (via MetroNews) with some righteous indignation:

“As a born and bred West Virginian and as someone who mourned the loss of many coal miners — including my own family — because of accidents that could have been prevented, I will not stand idly by and let this funding be taken away by the very people who have promised time and time again to fight for these miners,” Manchin said.

He continued:

“These West Virginia Members know coal miners, know their families, and have toured coal mines,” Manchin said. “I can’t for the life of me understand why they would be against protecting their own or cutting the budget at their expense.”

You have to wonder about the political advice the three received on this vote -- especially Jenkins who may end up running against Manchin. Okay, McKinley tried to hide his vote but did he or Jenkins or Mooney think that no one would notice? Just wait until the political ads start rolling out for next year's elections -- the ads practically write themselves.