Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said that, while the House voted 214-193 for passage, the measure was taken up as a “suspension”, meaning a two-thirds majority in agreement was required for the motion to move forward.

“I am deeply disappointed that the House of Representatives today failed to pass the Robert C Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2010 under suspension of the rules,” she said.

“This commonsense legislation, championed by chairman George Miller of the Education and Labor Committee, would be an important step forward in strengthening safety laws for our nation’s miners. The measure would compel the worst of the worst in the mining industry to change how they treat their miners.”

Despite the outcome of the vote, Solis noted the results also showed that a majority of the government’s members had run out of patience with operators which did not take miner health and safety seriously.

Additionally, the need for this legislation continued to be “tremendous”

“Every day the lives of miners are needlessly being put at risk,” she said.

“All workers deserve to come home safe at the end of a shift. I urge every legislator to join the president and me in committing to bringing miners the safety reforms they deserve.”

Named after the late pro-coal senator from West Virginia, the proposal would have enhanced regulators’ ability to shut down problem mines and increase penalties for serious violations of health and safety laws. It also would have provided better protection to those who chose to step forward and report hazards.

While House Democrats said the Mine Safety and Health Administration was in need of stronger enforcement tools, Republicans reportedly want to wait until the investigation into UBB is complete before progressing with a legislative solution.

"Congress cannot create new regulatory regimes without having all the information," Representative Tim Murphy told the Associated Press.

"Instead, our legislation should be crafted with facts and evidence, not emotion. Passing this bill before we have the report is similar to letting the doctor operate on you before he has the lab results or the X-rays."

The news service noted that, in a separate vote Wednesday, the House did pass a bill earmarking an additional $US5.3 million for MSHA’s staff to help ease the nation’s current mine citation backlog.