Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman and I appreciate all he does. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of all four of the OSHA reforms bills on the floor. These bills contain reforms that will encourage a more collaborative environment in which small business owners and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can work together and, in doing so, improve workplace safety. In particular I rise to support H.R. 742, the Small Employer Access to Justice Act. It would amend the OSHA Act of 1970 to reimburse small employers for attorneys' fees and costs when they are successful in challenging an OSHA citation. Now it is true that the Equal Access to Justice Act already allows small business owners to recover attorneys' fees when a ruling is in the employers favor. However, reimbursement for attorney fees is refused if OSHA can establish that the citation was substantially justified or that special circumstances led to the issuance of citations. This loophole means that small businesses are saddled with costly attorneys fees regardless of their innocence. Small business owners who believe that they have not violated any law are faced with a difficult question. Should I simply pay the fine or risk possibly incurring greater costs and attorneys fees by challenging this citation? No small business owner should face such a choice, especially if he or she is wrongly accused. Small business that have violated health or safety laws should be fined.…”