Pelosi stops short of pledging new mine safety legislation

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday called for “scrutiny” of mine safety laws following the fatal April 5 explosion at a West Virginia coal mine, but did not commit the chamber to new legislation.

“Right now, under the Obama Administration, there has been a change, and it is much more worker and safety oriented, and we must again subject the regulations, the laws to scrutiny; but also the behavior of the mine owners and their regard or disregard of the laws and regulations to protect the miners,” Pelosi said when asked whether Congress needs to bolster regulators’ ability to enforce safety standards.

Her comment is more cautious than remarks by some other lawmakers -- and President Barack Obama -- about the need for new legislation.

Obama yesterday said that he has tasked Labor Department officials to work with Congress to “strengthen enforcement of existing laws and close loopholes that permit companies to shirk their responsibilities.”

The explosion at Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 workers, making it the nation’s worst mining accident in four decades. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has said there needs to be legislation, but has not indicated a timeline, and notes the investigation of the accident will be lengthy.

Update: "We need to thoroughly review what happened here and see if this was a failure to follow existing laws and regulations, in which case the focus should be not on creating new law but on stepped-up enforcement," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said Friday afternoon.

This post was updated at 2:31 p.m. on April 16.