Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation with Senator Landrieu known as the Voluntary Protection Program Act. This bill will codify the Voluntary Protection Programs, or VPP, expand it to include more small businesses, and incorporate recent GAO recommendations for program improvements. No program has been more successful in creating such a culture of safety in the workplace than VPP. Since it was created in 1982, Republican and Democrat administrations alike have fostered its growth to more than 2,500 worksites, a quarter of which are unionized, and it covers approximately one million employees. The bipartisan support for VPP continues into this Congress. Last year, the Senate Budget Committee unanimously approved an amendment to preserve VPP budget authority and I have been pleased to work with the Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, Senator Landrieu, on this bill again this Congress. Our bill is also drawing bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. Congressmen Tom Petri and Gene Green are introducing companion legislation today and 1 thank them for their strong support on this important issue. Worksites that pass the rigorous evaluation process and become VPP sites have an average Days Away Restricted or Transferred, DART, case rate of 52 percent below the average for its industry. In recent years, smaller worksites have made significant strides in VPP, increasing from 28 percent of VPP sites in 2003 to 44 percent in 2010.…”