Charles Norwood: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2730 squarely focuses on the needs to reestablish Congress' intent and the needs to have an effective…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2730 squarely focuses on the needs to reestablish Congress' intent and the needs to have an effective system of checks and balances on agencies like OSHA when they are given so much latitude to interpret the scope of their own authority. Mr. Speaker, Congress gave OSHA an unprecedented level of authority to enter the workplace in 1970, and it knew that with this unprecedented level of authority ran the possibilities of abuse, and there are more than a few occasions of that over the last 35 years. As with all matters under American law, there is a fine line between implementing needed protections and overintrusiveness by a government agency. That is very important stuff. With this in mind, Congress devised a system of checks simply to keep OSHA within the boundaries of the playing field established by Congress. Let me provide a good example. Many of my colleagues will recall the front page of the Washington Post on January 4, 2000. The headline in the upper right-hand corner of the Post read, ``OSHA Covers At-Home Workers.'' I use this example not to rub salt in old wounds left over from the Clinton administration, but simply to say that OSHA has a rather checkered past, shall I say, when it comes to interpreting the limits of its authority under the OSH act. Left to its own devices, OSHA has a history of crossing the line and going out of bounds. I am not making that up.”