Political Quotes

“While I share the majority's commitment to ensuring workplace safety, I believe the underlying bill fails to provide for the most effective means to ensure that safety. Currently, there are several initiatives concerning dust under way at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA. Since October, the agency has implemented a combustible dust National Emphasis Program. This agency has sent high hazard alert letters to over 30,000 businesses emphasizing the need to prevent dust from accumulating. Most importantly, OSHA is in the midst of the investigation of the February disaster at the Imperial Sugar refinery. The Imperial Sugar refinery in Georgia is located in a community adjacent to the Second Congressional District of South Carolina, which I have the honor to represent. Instead of undermining the progress of existing combustible dust safety efforts, this substitute requires the Department of Labor to gather all necessary information about the Imperial refinery explosion specifically, as well as the broader dust hazard being examined through the National Emphasis Program.”