Tom Harkin: “I add to what the Senator from Massachusetts just said, how about the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food Safety…”

“I add to what the Senator from Massachusetts just said, how about the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food Safety and Inspection Service that inspects all our meat plants and processing plants? These are not elected either, but we trust them to maintain a safe and wholesome food supply in America. I have been working on this ergonomics rule in the appropriations process since Elizabeth Dole first addressed the issue 10 years ago. One of the reasons I worked on it is that I have seen it firsthand. I have seen people I know, close friends of mine, who have suffered these kinds of injuries because of the kind of work they do. I remember what the former Republican Labor Secretary said when she first ordered the ergonomics studies. She said repetitive strain injuries are 'one of the nation's most debilitating across-the-board worker safety and health illnesses of the 1990s.' She was right. We have study after study that shows 1.8 million of America's workers suffer from repetitive strain disorders each year; 600,000 of them suffer from injuries so serious they lose time from work. These injuries drain $45 billion to $50 billion a year in human and economic costs. Some employers have ergonomics programs in place because they are good employers and they are smart. They know what the bottom line is. They know ergonomics is a good business practice.”