Photo: Frances Perkins Department of Labor Building
Washington — House Education and Workforce Committee Democrats are asking the Department of Labor for details about Department of Government Efficiency-led closures of numerous Mine Safety and Health Administration field and district offices.
In a March 6 letter to then-acting Labor Secretary Vince Micone, Reps. Bobby Scott (D-MN), the committee’s ranking member, and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, write that ongoing shutdowns and staff reductions compromise MSHA’s ability to “do its job of protecting the nation’s mine workers from unsafe and deadly mine conditions.”
As of March 10, the DOGE website listed lease terminations for more than two dozen MSHA offices in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Scott and Omar are questioning DOL on how many leases for MSHA offices or additional spaces other than its Arlington, VA, headquarters have been canceled or terminated since Jan. 20. They also want information on multiple other topics, including:
- Did the General Services Administration consult with MSHA or DOL before identifying the affected leases for termination or terminating the affected leases?
- Was MSHA informed by GSA about terminations of the affected leases before receiving communications from landlords about such lease terminations?
- How many job offers to prospective MSHA inspectors have been revoked since Jan. 20?
- How will MSHA address President Donald Trump’s mandate for maximizing federal employees’ return-to-office-based work in light of the termination of the affected leases?
- What plan, if any, does MSHA have to ensure it can comply with its legal duties and implement regulations amid staff and lease terminations since Jan. 20?
“MSHA must be in position to inspect every active mine, respond swiftly to fatalities and imminent hazards, and conduct investigations,” the letter states. “Already some rural mines may be as much as a day’s drive from the nearest field office. MSHA cannot protect miners if all the nation’s mines are not within its reach.”
In a press release, United Mine Workers Association President Cecil Roberts also expresses concern about the potential impact of DOGE developments on worker safety.
“We will continue to do all we can to keep miners safe where we represent the workforce,” Roberts said. “But in the absence of a union and the absence of strong government enforcement, workers’ safety will be left solely in the hands of employers. History has shown us time and time again that doing so is a recipe for disaster, especially in the mining industry.”
Scott and Omar are seeking a response by March 20.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication