the nomination also faced significant resistance in the united states senate, with democratic sens. robert byrd and jay rockefeller (both of west virginia) successfully corralling widespread opposition from both democratic and republican senators. in remarks at the time, senator rockefeller noted that stickler had overseen "some of the most dangerous, most frequently cited for safety violations in the entire industry. in fact, his mines had a rate of preventable accidents that were 3 times the national average". senator rockefeller, who had recently marshalled the miner act through the senate to strengthen mine safety regulation, noted that stickler had testified to congress that he did not believe more legislation was necessary but rather that enforcement was an issue.