Enzi blasts OSHA for questionable tactics
Enzi blasts OSHA for questionable tactics
These are some of the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Safety and Training, Mike Enzi’s (R-WY) statements made in the Senate in July:
"As the chairman of the subcommittee that deals with worker safety, I feel a special responsibility to American workers, and I have a professional responsibility to oversee the agency charged with safeguarding these workers. But I am not fulfilling this responsibility if I merely rubber-stamp anything OSHA does just because OSHA says it is acting in the interest of worker safety and health.
"I have a duty to make certain that OSHA is acting responsibly, appropriately, and in the best interest of workplace safety and health. Sadly, OSHA has not done so with its proposed ergonomics rule. And that is what this amendment is about, this rule. Because of this rule, and the way OSHA is going about making it, the amendment merely requires that OSHA wait a reasonable one-year period before issuing a final ergonomics rule. That’s to keep OSHA from making some drastic mistakes to add to those already made.
"In a nutshell, OSHA is using questionable rule-making procedures; OSHA omitted the analysis of the economic impact; OSHA hasn’t resolved conflicting laws; and this rule infringes on state workers’ compensation — to name a few of the problems with an overly ambitious rule that is riddled with problems.
"OSHA’s haste to get through this rule-making process is clear. The rule OSHA has proposed is arguably the largest, broadest, most onerous, and most expensive rule in the history of the agency — probably any agency. But OSHA has made it very clear that it intends to finalize the rule this year, just over a year from the time the proposed rule was published.
Has OSHA already made up its mind?
"This narrow-minded commitment to year’s end can only mean that OSHA has already made up its mind in favor of the rule and thinks it will leave a mammoth and far-reaching legacy for the current presidential administration. I would suggest it will be closer to the legacy of the OSHA home-office inspections. Perhaps, you remember the letter issued by OSHA about the time we left for Christmas recess — the one that suggested OSHA was going to go into each home and look for safety violations.
"From the time we found out, it only took about 48 hours for OSHA to see how far-reaching and imposing that decision was. Of course, the whole nation realized the implications of the home inspections even quicker! I am extremely concerned that OSHA is blinded by the motivation to get it done during this administration and is not taking the time to carefully consider all of the aspects and effects of this important rule.
"Responding to inquiries first made by Congressman David MacIntosh, OSHA recently disclosed that it has paid at least 70 contractors a total of $1.75 million to help it with the ergonomics rule making.
"Congressman MacIntosh’s staff discovered that OSHA may have failed to disclose an additional 47 contracts for even more money. OSHA’s own documentation reveals that it paid 28 contractors $10,000 each to testify at the public rule making hearings.
"Going through some of the accounting information, I even noticed one contractor had turned in an itemized bill for less and was still paid the $10,000.
"And when I asked OSHA for evidence of public notification that it was paying these witnesses, OSHA gave me none. I am very concerned that OSHA is paying so much money for outside contractors for this rule making, and I intend to hold a hearing to get to the bottom of this issue.
"Because of OSHA, I can’t quote from these documents or show you copies, but I can tell you what I saw. I saw that not only did OSHA pay 28 expert witnesses $10,000 a pop, it also appears that OSHA did the following:
1. "Gave detailed outlines to at least some of the witnesses telling them what to say in their testimony.
2. "Had OSHA lawyers tell at least one expert witness that they wanted a stronger statement from the witness regarding the role of physical factors — an important scientific issue.
3. "Heavily edited the testimony of at least some of the witnesses.
4. "Held practice sessions to coach the witnesses in their testimony.
"This sounds a lot like OSHA told its expert witnesses what to say. And it sounds like OSHA made up its mind in favor of this rule a long time ago and has just been stacking the evidentiary deck to support its position."
"We must ensure that OSHA takes the time to investigate and solve the problems with the rule without taking shortcuts.
"If we do not act now to impose a reasonable one-year delay of finalization of the rule, OSHA will forge ahead and produce a sloppy final product that not only fails to advance worker health and safety, but also threatens the viability of state workers’ compensation, health care for the poor and elderly, and businesses all across the country."
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