Mike Enzi: “the two bills just passed by the Senate were authored by my good friend, Congressman Ballenger. H.R. 2864, the…”

“the two bills just passed by the Senate were authored by my good friend, Congressman Ballenger. H.R. 2864, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Compliance Assistance Authorization Act, and H.R. 2877, a bill to eliminate the imposition of quotas in the context of OSHA's enforcement activities, are intended to help increase the joint cooperation of employees, employers, and OSHA in the effort to ensure safe and healthful working conditions. These bills are the first in a series of efforts to modernize the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, a law which has only been amended one time, in 1990, and that amendment was simply an effort to raise the amount of the fines. So this is the first substantial change in 27 years. Since its inception, OSHA has consistently relied upon an adversarial approach rather than placing a greater emphasis on a collaborative strategy geared toward increasing worker safety and health. Agency officials have admitted that 95 percent of the employers in the country do their level best to try to voluntarily comply with the law. Unfortunately, OSHA inspectors still treat employers as adversaries, issuing them citations for what they haven't done and not assisting them in complying with regulations to make the workplace safer. Positive changes in the relationship that exists between employers and OSHA are long overdue.”