Tomorrow afternoon, Congress will once again take up new legislative proposals to improve coal mine safety. After decades of repeated mining disasters, countless unnecessary deaths and injuries, and continual demands for remedial action, can Congress finally get mining safety legislation right? The outward signs are not encouraging.

After two members of Congress cited OSHA’s letter citing BP’s “general systemic failure” to protect workers, OSHA did an about-face and lined up to protect BP. What’s going on?