Hilda L. Solis: “I rise in opposition to bringing this resolution forward, Senate Joint Resolution 6 to the floor. This legislation would…”

“I rise in opposition to bringing this resolution forward, Senate Joint Resolution 6 to the floor. This legislation would repeal the worker-safety standards recently established by OSHA. Remember, it took 10 long years to get here. We studied this thing to death. The worker-safety standards are critically important to preventing work-related injuries, and it is shameful that the Republican majority is trying to overturn them. Maybe those of us in Congress do not have to worry about repetitive injuries or forceful exertion or awkward postures because of the type of work we do. But look at the stenographers right in front of us that sit here day in and day out, does one not think that they might have had some problems with carpal tunnel syndrome? Take a look around your own offices. I know in my district office it is very important that we have safety protections put in place. Mr. Speaker, I know also in my district we have many constituents who work in a hard and unsafe manner, many of them work in sweat shops, many of them work for big garment industries, they work 10 and 12 hours sewing materials, barely being able to lift up their heads. Many of them are women, many of them are new immigrants that come to this country with the hope of prosperity in bringing up their families. They sacrifice themselves for that. The least that we can do is provide them with better protections in the workplace.”