Cass Ballenger: “I support the bill under consideration today. Many of us in Congress have been critical of OSHA. We've claimed that the…”

“I support the bill under consideration today. Many of us in Congress have been critical of OSHA. We've claimed that the agency has been overreaching and lacking in common sense in its regulations. We've claimed that it is adversarial and punitive in its enforcement, and noted that it has not been cost effective in promoting worker safety and health. The Clinton Administration has agreed with many of our criticisms of OSHA. For example, just one year ago, President Clinton, speaking at a small business in Washington, D.C., called for creation of ``a new OSHA,'' an OSHA that puts emphasis on ``prevention, not punishment'' and uses ``commonsense and market incentives to save lives.'' Vice President Gore was even more direct when he spoke to the White House Conference on Small Business last year. He said: I know that OSHA has been the subject of more small business complaints than any other agency. And I know that it is not because you don't care about keeping your workers safe. It is because the rules are too rigid and the inspections are often adversarial. In criticizing OSHA, we've said nothing more than OSHA's record surely shows. Despite spending over $5 billion in taxpayer funds over the past 25 years, there is little evidence that OSHA has made a significant difference in the safety and health of workers.”