The latest NYTimes article on MSHA should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed this administration's enforcement record; the Bush administration has reduced penalties for mine safety violations in order to better relations with industry. From the article: In its drive to foster a more cooperative relationship with mining companies, the Bush administration has decreased major fines for safety violations since 2001, and in nearly half the cases, it has not collected the fines, according to a data analysis by The New York Times. Federal records also show that in the last two years the federal mine safety agency has failed to hand over any delinquent cases to the Treasury Department for further collection efforts, as is supposed to occur after 180 days. The article also notes that the much-touted achievement of reduced deaths cited by the administration and industry as justification for their lax enforcement is largely a result of greater mechanization of mining processes rather than an actual increase in safety precautions, meaning those miners who do have to put themselves in harm's way are no safer than they were before.