Make Mine Safety Inspections Public, Rep. Waxman Urges

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Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, urged the Labor Department to again make public mine safety inspection reports – records it stopped disclosing under the Freedom of Information Act in 2004. Waxman said the “unwarranted secrecy” might serve to protect the mining industry from embarrassment but it “undermines accountability and mine safety.” He added, “It would be impossible to draw a direct connection between the new FOIA policy and the recent fatal disaster at the Sago mine. But the agency’s secrecy policy certainly limited public disclosure about the mine’s violations.” (1/17/06)