The LA Times has an intriguing piece up today regarding the state of safety regulations in coal mining after the tragedy at Upper Big Branch last year. In particular they trace the failure of Rep. George Miller’s bill for reform which died in the last lame duck session in Congress. A take away quote:

Industry lobbying against the bill was intense. The National Mining Assn. alone reported spending $3.2 million on lobbying last year, a portion of it to oppose Miller’s bill. That effort was joined by hundreds of other companies and trade associations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Overall, the mining industry made $6.4 million in political donations in the 2010 cycle, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which developed a detailed history of mining industry lobbying and campaign expenditures in collaboration with The Los Angeles Times.

The full story is here. The breakdown of coal lobby money received by members of the House of Representatives here.