January 26, 2026 - Although Mine Safety and Health Administration head Wayne Palmer aspires to be as “visible, engaged and responsive as possible with the industry (and) stakeholders,” one topic remains temporarily off-limits.

During a Jan. 22 hearing of the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee, lawmakers referenced multiple times an MSHA final rule on miner exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Palmer said during his testimony that he was unable to comment because the rule is being challenged in ongoing litigation.

However, Palmer addressed several other agency policies and priorities. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), who chairs the subcommittee, said it marked the first time in 6½ years that an MSHA leader appeared before the subcommittee.

Palmer, who was nominated as agency administrator in February and confirmed Oct. 7, cited his previous MSHA experience as an influence on his new responsibilities. He was the agency’s acting head until David Zatezalo’s confirmation in November 2017 and then was principal deputy assistant secretary at MSHA from December 2017 to January 2021.

“Serving as deputy assistant secretary during the first Trump administration, I spent a great deal of time attending safety conferences and speaking and just getting to know the operators,” Palmer testified. “I believe that having those relationships goes a long way toward helping them to comply and keep their mines safe.”

In his opening remarks, Palmer said MSHA conducted more than 20,000 mandatory inspections at nearly 12,300 mines last year. Responding to related questioning from Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), he offered additional information about the agency’s Compliance Assistance in Safety and Health Program.

For developing mines – most of which are west of the Mississippi River, Palmer said – MSHA will send a specialist to conduct a statutory inspection without issuing citations and violations. That compliance assistance visit precedes an unannounced visit from MSHA to conduct a full inspection.

“It’s all in service of preparing them how to comply,” Palmer testified.

Additionally, Palmer said agency officials will seek to “modernize” MSHA through advances in technology.

In response to Mackenzie, he noted that the agency is refining a predictive analytics program aimed at assisting mine operators with evaluating risks based on previous inspection and investigation data.

“So, if you’re a mine operator, this will be extremely valuable in terms of focusing their internal safety protocols on the places where an accident, an injury, is most likely to occur,” Palmer testified.

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) asked Palmer about how MSHA and OSHA can work together to “create more clarity and consistency between rules that may deal with similar hazards.”

Palmer pointed to an existing relationship with OSHA leader Dave Keeling in what he views as a natural partnership.

“We do consider OSHA and MSHA to be sister agencies, and so on any number of rules or specific risks or hazards, Dave and I talk all the time, and I look forward to collaborating with him routinely throughout our tenures,” he said.

The permissible exposure limit in MSHA’s new silica rule matches the one OSHA established in 2016. Although the MSHA rule went into effect in June 2024, its compliance date has been delayed amid a lawsuit filed by the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, which claims the rule is “deeply arbitrary.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), the subcommittee’s ranking member, pressed Palmer on the rule and, during her closing statement, called for agency accountability.

“Black lung disease caused by inhalation of coal and silica dust is increasingly affecting younger and younger miners,” Omar said. “The Biden administration saw this as an imminent danger and took steps to protect miners from silica exposure through commonsense safety standards.

“Unfortunately, instead of enforcing the Biden-era rule, the Trump administration has given mining executives a pass to put miners in harm’s way without proper protection against silica exposure.”

Mackenzie closed the hearing by welcoming further collaboration with Palmer and the agency.

“By promoting a strong safety culture, MSHA helps mines operate more reliably, protects workers’ rights and reinforces public trust in the mining industry,” Mackenzie said. “So, we support your efforts as you strive to keep miners safe and productive.”