Virginia Foxx: “This amendment underscores two obvious points: first, that healthcare and social service workers should be free to…”

“This amendment underscores two obvious points: first, that healthcare and social service workers should be free to report workplace violence incidents to law enforcement; and second, that this bill was drafted poorly. Such a commonsense provision should not need to be added to the underlying legislation. But in the Democrats' rush to force OSHA to promulgate workplace violence prevention standards, they are bypassing key elements of the established rulemaking process that would ensure a provision such as this amendment, if needed, is in the regulatory text. H.R. 1309 circumvents the longstanding, established OSHA rulemaking process, which is intended to gather information on the underlying circumstances that may merit a health and safety regulation and to receive meaningful stakeholder input in order to create the most feasible and protective safety and health standard possible. By dodging the established regulatory process, the Democrats are ignoring or unaware of many key issues like the ones addressed in this amendment. Madam Chair, I will support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.”