Oppegard said that under the current administration, there was a "shift in philosophy" from enforcement to helping companies with voluntary compliance. Inspectors would do "walk and talks" with mine operators showing them where items needed to fixed instead of focusing on violations and enforcement.

Those exercises took up valuable inspection time that should have been used to make sure the mines were following the requirements under law, he said.

The House and Senate have each passed the 2008 spending bill that includes MSHA's budget, but differences will need to be worked out between then two versions before the budget will be re-approved and sent to the president.

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the MSHA budget has scheduled a hearing on the Crandall Canyon accident for Sept. 5 — one day after Congress reconvenes from its summer recess — to discuss the disaster and preventing future ones from happening.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com