Judd Gregg: “I rise in introducing the Occupational Safety and Health Modernization Act. Let me say at the outset that in proposing…”

“I rise in introducing the Occupational Safety and Health Modernization Act. Let me say at the outset that in proposing and considering OSHA reform, worker safety was my first concern. I am firmly committed to ensuring a safe and healthy workplace and will not support legislation which puts that in jeopardy. I believe in this bill that I have accomplished a true modernization of OSHA without compromising the safety of our workers in any way. Throughout my career in public office, I have worked to make government more efficient and more user and consumer friendly. Federal Government agencies have grown so large and become so bureaucratic that they are often not providing the kinds of personal services and proper oversight that was originally intended when they were created. Too often Government carries a heavy stick, but no carrot, when it interacts with individual citizens and businesses throughout our country. I believe that it is high time we take a close look at how we can improve the way government works and, at the same time, provide incentives for the private sector to act more responsibly. Americans will be better served in a climate where people in government, and in business, can work together to solve problems in a spirit of cooperation, rather than in an atmosphere strictly of threats, intimidation, and punitive measures.”