Virginia Foxx: “We all agree American workers should be kept out of harm's way on the job so they can safely and healthily return home…”

“We all agree American workers should be kept out of harm's way on the job so they can safely and healthily return home to their families. These caregivers deserve protections, but H.R. 1195 is the wrong approach to address the important issue of workplace violence. I am disappointed by the lack of effort to develop a workable bipartisan solution to combat workplace violence before this flawed legislation was rushed to the floor by Democrat leaders in Congress. In fact, committee Democrats chose not to hold a legislative hearing focused on this bill. Unfortunately, the Democrat amendments only reinforce that H.R. 1195 is the wrong approach to addressing this important issue. Representative Brown's amendment, while well-intentioned, ignores the fact that there are Federal agencies other than OSHA that would be better equipped to handle a regulatory requirement for the education of healthcare and social service workers who work with the victims of torture, trafficking, or domestic violence. The question of whether employer education programs governed by OSHA, the Federal Government's workplace safety agency, are appropriate to address the objectives of this amendment should be thoroughly vetted and discussed during the rulemaking process before decisions impacting healthcare facilities and their patients are made. H.R. 1195 does not allow for this to occur.…”