John Tierney: “Mr. Chairman, what we are talking about here is whether or not OSHA should be allowed to go forward with the rules they…”

“Mr. Chairman, what we are talking about here is whether or not OSHA should be allowed to go forward with the rules they have established. Proponents of this bill say no, kill it, delay it, do whatever you can, but do not implement it. They use the same excuse or tactic that they have used before, simply to propose yet another study. The irony here is that the delay would be for 24 months, 2 years. The irony in particular is that the proposed study would merely review existing literature. Even more ironic is the study that they seek to be done, they seek it by the National Academy of Sciences, a group whose studies they rejected when it came time for the Census, because this particular group said the Census should be done with statistical sampling. Our friends on the other side did not like it then, but now, because they want a delay, they do not want to see the standards go into effect, they cannot wait to put this off and have the National Academy of Sciences do yet another study. The harm is not just to working men and women, although that harm is severe. The harm is also to businesses. We do not hear that from the other side, but $15 billion to $20 billion a year is going to be spent on workers compensation costs because of workers' injuries. My small businesses want to know that they can rely on reasonable regulations to help them stop that kind of expenditures.”