[Senate Hearing 107-281]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 107-281
NOMINATION
=======================================================================
HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
JOHN L. HENSHAW, OF MISSOURI, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR,
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
__________
AUGUST 2, 2001
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
_______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
74-504 WASHINGTON : 2001
____________________________________________________________________________
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpr.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512�091800
Fax: (202) 512�092250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402�090001
?
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire
TOM HARKIN, Iowa BILL FRIST, Tennessee
BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
JAMES M. JEFFORDS (I), Vermont TIM HUTCHINSON, Arkansas
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia
PAUL D. WELLSTONE, Minnesota CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri
PATTY MURRAY, Washington PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
JACK REED, Rhode Island SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York MIKE DeWINE, Ohio
J. Michael Myers, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Townsend Lange McNitt, Minority Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
STATEMENTS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2001
Page
Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Massachusetts.................................................. 1
Gregg, Hon. Judd, a U.S. Senator from the State of New Hampshire. 2
Wellstone, Hon. Paul D., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Minnesota...................................................... 3
Enzi, Hon. Michael B., a U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming.. 6
Henshaw, John L., Director of Environment, Safety, and Health,
Astaris, LLC, St. Louis, MO.................................... 10
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Articles, publications, letters, etc.:
Senator Carnahan............................................. 22
(iii)
NOMINATION
----------
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2001
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in
room SD-430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Kennedy
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Kennedy, Wellstone, Clinton, Gregg, and
Enzi.
Opening Statement of Senator Kennedy
The Chairman. The committee will come to order.
Today the Committee considers the nomination of John
Henshaw to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration. The head of OSHA plays a
central role in ensuring that our Nation's workplaces are
healthy and safe, and Mr. Henshaw is well-qualified for this
important responsibility.
I commend Mr. Henshaw for his impressive record of
achievement and his clear commitment to workplace health and
safety programs. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the
field, working as an industrial hygienist, an industrial
hygiene director, and most recently as director of environment,
safety and health for an international corporation. He has
served skillfully in each of these capacities, and throughout
his career, he has shown a commitment to strong health and
safety protections.
Mr. Henshaw will need those qualities at OSHA. Congress
passed the Act in 1970 to guarantee every worker a safe and
healthy working environment; OSHA was created to set and
enforce the standards needed to achieve this promise.
Clearly, we need continuing vigorous enforcement of OSHA's
responsibilities. Since 1971 when OSHA was created, workplace
fatalities have been cut in half, and occupational injury and
illness rates have declined by 40 percent.
Reductions in workplace fatalities and injuries have been
much greater in industries where OSHA has targeted its
standards and enforcement. By the year 2000, the fatality rate
in manufacturing had declined by 63 percent and the injury rate
by 37 percent since passage of the Act. Similarly in
construction, the fatality rate had declined by 79 percent and
the injury rate by 55 percent.
OSHA's actions save lives. Before OSHA issued its cotton
dust standard in 1978, several hundred thousand textile
industrial workers developed brown lung, a crippling and
sometimes fatal respiratory disease. In 1978, there were an
estimated 40,000 cases, amounting to 20 percent of the
industry's work force. By 1985, the rate had dropped to one
percent.
OSHA's standards also save money for employers and increase
productivity. Compliance with OSHA's vinyl chloride standard
led to improvements in the production process, increased
profits, and lowered worker exposures. The OSHA cotton dust
standard enhanced investment in the textile industry, making
textile mills more productive and healthier for workers.
Despite these advances, there is much more to be done.
Although injury and fatality rates are falling, too many
workers are being killed and injured on the job. In 1998, 6,000
workers died from traumatic injuries, and more than 50,000 died
from occupational diseases. More than 5.9 million workers were
injured on the job.
On an average day, 153 workers lose their lives as a result
of workplace injuries and illnesses, and another 16,000 are
injured. That is one workplace death or injury every 5 seconds.
We know the enormous human cost imposed by occupational
illness and injury. All we need to do is to ask the families of
workers like Fredi Canales, killed on the job at a garbage-
sorting plant when he fell from a beam to which he had climbed
to clear jammed garbage from a giant sorting machine.
We owe it to working men and women of this country to do
better, and there are numerous ways in which the next
administrator of OSHA can do better.
We need a strong new ergonomics rule. Ergonomic injuries
are the most serious health and safety issue facing workers
today. Nearly 2 million workers will suffer such injuries this
year, resulting in economic losses of over $50 billion.
Workers deserve a strong ergonomics standard to protect
them from these painful and often crippling injuries. The
standard should be based on the best available evidence and
should emphasize the prevention of injuries before they occur.
OSHA must also maintain a fair balance between enforcement
and compliance assistance. I strongly support efforts to
encourage voluntary employer compliance with OSHA rules, but
those efforts must be accompanied by a commitment to vigorous
enforcement action as well.
Other priorities are important for OSHA, too, including
occupational exposure to tuberculosis, protection for workers
exposed to beryllium, employers' payment for personal
protective equipment, health and safety programs in all
workplaces, permissible exposure limits for toxic chemicals, a
new standard on silica, and protections for immigrant workers,
especially those in the most dangerous jobs.
So we look forward to Mr. Henshaw's testimony today and to
working closely with him in this and many other pressing issues
of worker health and safety.
Senator Gregg?
Opening Statement of Senator Gregg
Senator Gregg. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Henshaw, it is a pleasure to have you here today. I
notice you have a fair amount of family with you also.
Mr. Henshaw has a long and distinguished career of more
than 25 years as a corporate health and safety executive, and I
am pleased that he is now willing to bring that sort of hands-
on, real life experience into the public sector where it is
sorely needed.
In the 21st century, OSHA will, like the rest of the
Department of Labor, face a great many tests as it tries to
address the challenges of the new millennium. From ergonomics
to employer-employee cooperation to rules that respond to the
emerging flexible workplace of the 21st century, OSHA will play
a very large role and, as has been outlined by Senator Kennedy,
has played a large role in protecting workers in America.
I am encouraged that the President has nominated such an
extraordinarily highly capable person who has demonstrated a
commitment to the protection of employees' health in the
workplace for this job. It is a critical job, and it is one
which this committee has focused a great deal of attention on
over the last few years.
Therefore, I welcome you to this hearing and look forward
to supporting your nomination.
I am going to have to leave, Mr. Chairman, but I will leave
the Republican side in the good hands of Senator Enzi, who is
an extraordinarily talented individual, but especially a
specialist on this issue.
The Chairman. I am not trying to encourage long statements,
but we have two individuals who are particularly interested and
active on our committee. I would ask Senator Wellstone if he
would say a word and then Senator Enzi, and then we will make a
brief introduction and hear from our witness.
Opening Statement of Senator Wellstone
Senator Wellstone. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As the chair of the Subcommittee on Employment, Safety, and
Training, I had a chance to meet with Mr. Henshaw, and I thank
him for coming by. I thought it was an excellent meeting, and I
really look forward to working with him.
It is clear, Mr. Henshaw as the Senator from New Hampshire
said, that you have rich professional experience in the area,
and you are being nominated for I think one of the most
important positions not only in the Department of Labor but in
Government.
I would ask, Mr. Chairman, that my full statement be
included in the record, if that is all right.
The Chairman. It will be so included.
Senator Wellstone. OSHA has been in existence for 30 years,
and this is an agency that is extremely important. It is the
best bet for millions of workers whose lives would otherwise be
put on the line simply because they have to earn a paycheck,
and they have got to work, and even if it is not civilized
working conditions, and it is a risk to their lives, they have
got to do it, and there has to be some protection. This is
really OSHA's mission.
Experience has shown over and over and over again that in
the absence of strong Government-mandated safeguards, the
results are workplace exposures to everything from odorless
carcinogens to repetitive stress to combustible grain dust and
other dangers are all out there, and they are too numerous to
mention. So this is a critically important position you will
have when it comes to protecting workers and their children and
their families.
Earlier in the week, we had a hearing on the devastating
impact of asbestos. It was one of the most dramatic hearings
that I have ever attended. At one point, Senator Baucus was
talking about the guilt of one of the workers because he would
come home and hug his children and be with his family, and it
turned out the problem of asbestosis and mesothelioma was
transferred to them as well through the dust on his clothing.
There was no protection for this worker.
Mr. Chairman, since its founding, hundreds of thousands of
workers did not die in the workplace because of OSHA. This is
an agency with a record of real success. We have seen a 50
percent reduction in workplace fatalities between December of
1970 and December of 2000. OSHA can be proud of that. And the
occupational injury and illness rate has dropped 40 percent.
OSHA can be proud of that.
If you look at industries which have had the most dramatic
decline, it has been in some of those industries, for example,
manufacturing and construction, where OSHA was most involved.
Sometimes you have seen the fatality rate decline by 60 percent
and the injury rate by 33 percent. So it is an important agency
that I think has done a good job.
Let me simply say that I think the message from OSHA to
workers has to be ``You are not expendable.'' And I think the
message to companies is that the private sector is critically
important to our country, and you have the right to run your
business and maximize profits in any way you want to up to the
point where you start injuring or killing workers. Then you
cannot. Then the Government steps in.
That is what the Government and that is what OSHA is
supposed to do.
Mr. Chairman, I had a chance to look at the legislative
history of OSHA, and I want to finish with a quote. And Mr.
Henshaw, you seem like the kind of man who would be moved by
this from what I know of you, and all of your family I think
will probably feel the same way.
This quote is from Senator Yarborough when the legislation
first passed. This is what he said about the argument that OSHA
protection would be too expensive: ``One may well ask, Too
expensive for whom? Is it too expensive for the company who,
for lack of proper safety equipment, loses the service of its
skilled employees? Is it too expensive for the employee who
loses his hand or leg or eyesight? Is it too expensive for the
widow trying to raise her children on a meager allowance under
workmen's comp and Social Security? And what about the man, a
good, hardworking man''--and we should add ``woman''--``tied to
a wheelchair or hospital bed for the rest of his life? That is
what we are dealing with when we talk about industrial safety.
We are talking about people's lives, not the indifference of
certain cost accountants.''
That is the importance of your job. I look forward to
working with you. I look forward to the testimony. I have I
hope some important questions. Thank you for your commitment to
public service.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Senator Wellstone follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Paul D. Wellstone
Mr. Chairman, I want to join you in welcoming Mr. Henshaw
before our committee today. And I want to thank you, Mr.
Henshaw, for taking the time to meet with me earlier this week.
It is clear that you have sound professional experience in
the occupational safety and health arena-and for that we are
grateful. In my mind the position for which you have been
nominated-the read of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)-is one of the most important positions at
the Department of Labor.
In its thirty years of existence OSHA has made its presence
felt in the lives of tens of millions of Americans at all
levels of the workforce. OSHA and its related agencies are
literally the last, best hope for millions of American workers
whose lives would otherwise be put on the line simply because
they need to earn a paycheck. Experience has shown, over and
over, that the absence of strong government-mandated safeguards
results in workplace exposure to everything from odorless
carcinogens to repetitive stress to combustible grain dust to
other dangers too numerous to mention.
Earlier this week we held hearings on the devastating
impact of asbestos in the workplace. OSHA's role in protecting
workers from this hideous poison is extremely important.
Mr. Chairman, since its founding, hundreds of thousands of
American workers did not die on the job thanks to OSHA.
Workplace fatalities have declined 50 percent between December
1970 and December 2000, while occupational injury and illness
rates have dropped 40 percent.
Not surprisingly, declines in workplace fatalities and
injuries have been most dramatic in precisely those industries
where OSHA has targeted its activities. Let's take, for
example, the manufacturing and construction sectors. Since OSHA
came into existence, the manufacturing fatality rate has
declined by 60 percent and the injury rate by 33 percent. Also
during this period, construction fatality rates have declined
by 80 percent and injury rates by 52 percent.
Mr. Chairman, it is not a coincidence that these rates have
fallen in these two industries which are also ones that have
received some of OSHA's closest attention.
OSHA's role in assuring so far as possible that every
worker is protected from on-the-job hazards cannot be denied. A
strong OSHA voice is a way of saying to the American worker:
``you are not expendable.''
It is a way of saying to businesses: ``yes, you have a
right to run your business and to maximize your profits. But
you are only free to do that up to the point where you start
injuring or killing your workers. Your freedom to pursue that
profit ends at that point.''
That's where government-that's where OSHA-is supposed to
step in to protect workers.
That's why this nomination is so important. That's why, Mr.
Henshaw, the burden of responsibility is so heavy.
I recently had occasion to look at some of the legislative
history from when the Occupational Safety and Health Act was
passed. I mentioned this at our recent hearings on repetitive
stress injuries. I think it's well worth repeating here.
When the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed,
there was much talk of whether it would be ``too expensive'' to
implement. Senator Yarborough at the time addressed those
concerns. What he had to say then is just as fitting today:
``One may well ask too expensive for whom? Is it too
expensive for the company who for lack of proper safety
equipment loses the services of its skilled employees? Is it
too expensive for the employee who loses his hand or leg or
eyesight? Is it too expensive for the widow trying to raise her
children on meager allowance under Workmen's Compensation and
Social Security? And what about the man-a good hardworking man-
tied to a wheel chair or hospital bed for the rest of his life?
That is what we are dealing with when we talk about industrial
safety . . . we are talking about people's lives, not the
indifference of some cost accountants.''
So Mr. Henshaw, I look forward to hearing your views on how
you will shoulder this immense responsibility. I look forward
to hearing what you will do to ensure that OSHA can continue to
be a force for protecting worker health and safety-for ensuring
workers that indeed they are not expendable.
Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Enzi?
Opening Statement of Senator Enzi
Senator Enzi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate this
opportunity to make a statement.
I had the opportunity also to meet with Mr. Henshaw earlier
this week and was extremely impressed with what he has done,
the organizations that he belongs to, and what he has inspired
those organizations to do. I have had the opportunity to work
with those organizations and know that they make a tremendous
difference from the professional aspect of really reviewing
what needs to be done in the workplace and seeing that it gets
done.
One of the things I am always fascinated with is that that
is in spite of OSHA. When I came here, there was a tremendous
effort to eliminate OSHA. I have not been part of that effort,
and I have enjoyed working with Senator Wellstone and Senator
Kennedy and others on the other side of the aisle and everybody
on this side of the aisle to make OSHA more effective, to
change the concentration a little bit from that attitude that
all business is interested in is making money and hurting
employees. I have not found that to be the case anywhere.
We have a tremendous potential to help industry to
understand what can be done, and you have the kind of
credentials that can help them to understand that.
I have got to say that the way that I got into this was
being one of those ``cost accountants.'' I was doing some work
for a client, and I went to him and said, ``Look how much it is
costing you in employee accidents. You have tremendous
potential here to change your bottom line.''
And the guy said, ``OK, do it.''
I said, ``Whoa, wait a minute. I am an accountant; I am not
a safety guy. I do not do that kind of work.'' I looked like
that fellow in the commercial on television.
And he said, ``Well, you already know more about our safety
problem than anybody else--so, do it.''
So I got involved in safety at that point, and I can tell
you that in a 3-year period, they got a national award for
safety. Now, I relied a lot on people like you who have
expertise in the area, but when business understands how they
can help the worker and thereby help their business and thereby
help their bottom line, they do it.
I too am pleased that since OSHA went into effect, injuries
have dropped 50 percent. But I went back and looked 20 years
previous to that, and do you know--injuries dropped by 50
percent. That is because business realized ways that they could
improve their business by protecting workers. I think we should
get that kind of reduction each and every year.
My dad always said that if you are still talking about what
you did yesterday, you have not done very much yet today. So
the challenges are before us, and I think we have the right man
for the job to begin the next era of OSHA, and I thank you for
being committed and willing to take on this monstrous task; I
know that you will do a good job.
Mr. Chairman, I would ask that my full statement be
included in the record.
The Chairman. It will be included.
[The prepared statement of Senator Enzi follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Enzi
Thank you Mr. Chairman. Thank you Mr. Henshaw for appearing
before the Committee today.
I am pleased to announce my support for the appointment of
John L. Henshaw as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
As a highly respected occupational safety and health
professional, Mr. Henshaw has demonstrated a strong commitment
to reducing and preventing injuries and illnesses in the
workplace. With over twenty-five years of experience in the
field, he brings to the position technical expertise as well as
a practical perspective on effectively addressing workplace
safety issues.
The broad support that Mr. Henshaw's nomination has
received is a testament to his ability to work well among
various constituencies in order to promote occupational safety
and health. It is also a testament to the leadership skills he
has exhibited in the private sector, most recently as the
Director of Environment, Safety and Health at Astaris, and in
professional organizations, as President of the American
Industrial Hygiene Association and the Safety Council of
Greater St. Louis.
I am confident that OSHA's mission to save lives, prevent
injuries and protect the health of America's workers will be
well-served by Mr. Henshaw's appointment. I am particularly
encouraged by Mr. Henshaw's proactive approach to workplace
safety. Under his leadership, I hope to see OSHA commit
resources to initiatives designed to prevent injuries from
occurring.
As the ranking member on the Employment, Safety and
Training Subcommittee, as well as a former small business
owner, I am extremely eager to work with Mr. Henshaw to improve
two aspects of OSHA's functioning. First, I'd like to see OSHA
consider and ultimately include the unique needs and
limitations of small employers in all of the agency's
regulatory operations. Second, I'd like to see OSHA devote
energy towards the prevention of workplace injuries with more
education and compliance activity.
Mr. Chairman, we have before us an excellent nominee who
possesses the skills, experience and character to bring OSHA to
a new level of effectiveness in promoting workplace safety and
health. I look forward to working with Mr. Henshaw towards this
goal and I look forward to his speedy confirmation.
I thank you Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. I would like to put this in a bit of context.
During the Reagan administration, enforcement was weakened, and
injury rates actually increased from 7.6 per 100 in 1983 to 8.9
per 100 in 1992.
During the Clinton administration, when the balance between
enforcement and voluntary compliance was restored, injury rates
fell from 8.6 per 100 in 1993 to 6.3 per 100 in 1999--the
lowest in OSHA's history. So there may be an inevitability of
companies trying to reduce injury rates, but we also see the
result where there is a balance between enforcement and
compliance, done effectively, which all of us want to see you
do. We want you to be effective. We know that you have some
different emphases, but we want it to be done effectively, so
we can see some real progress.
I want to apologize on behalf of Senator Bond and Senator
Carnahan, both of whom communicated with me. Both had intended
to be here, but they are currently involved in other activities
on the floor and in committee, in a very important mark-up in
the case of Senator Carnahan, as well as on the floor in terms
of the appropriations bill. But they wanted to extend a very
warm welcome and introduce you to the committee.
[The prepared statement of Senator Bond follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Bond
This morning I am delighted to introduce John Henshaw, a
fellow Missourian who has been nominated for the position of
Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. I think the President
has chosen exceptionally well for this position, he has
certainly come to the right state. John Henshaw is the right
person at the right time for this agency.
He comes from the real world where companies survive or
crumble depending on whether they can make sense of OSHA's
regulations and edicts. I am pleased the new administration has
decided to go with someone from the ``customer'' side of this
equation. John's role in creating exemplary safety records for
large chemical manufacturers has earned him respect and support
from all sides of the workplace safety issue, including
organized labor.
His experience in the field has taught John what is needed
to restore credibility and integrity to OSHA. Basic fairness
suggests that if an agency is going tell an employer that they
are not doing something properly, they should be able to help
that employer do it better. Many businesses, especially the
many small businesses that have come to me, complain that OSHA
is merely out to harass employers without any interest in
helping them.
These are employers who truly want to make their workplaces
safer, but have been frustrated when they turn to the agency
for help. To really move forward in improving workplace safety,
OSHA needs to reach out to these employers and provide more
assistance so that they can learn how to do the right thing,
instead of just focusing on punishing them when they have not
lived up to their obligations. I am looking forward to John
bringing a fresh perspective to this agency and making OSHA a
resource for employers to use in solving their workplace safety
problems, rather than just an agency they have to fear when
they come calling.
At the same time, I know that John will uphold OSHA's
tradition of enforcement against those employers who violate
the trust that employees place in them each day when they show
up for work, and look forward to going home that evening in one
piece. John knows that the customers of OSHA are not just the
employers who must comply with OSHA's regulations, but also the
employees who expect reasonable and responsible safety
procedures in their workplace, as well as their children and
families who count on them to return home at the end of the
day.
I am confident that the Senate will find John to be a
superb choice for this position, and I am deeply grateful that
he has been willing to take it on.
So it is a pleasure to welcome John Henshaw, the
President's nominee. He is a well-regarded and capable safety
and health professional. He is director of environment, safety,
and health at Astaris, LLC, located in St. Louis, MO. He has
had extensive expertise in issues of workplace health and
safety throughout his career, including his work at the
Monsanto Company.
Mr. Henshaw graduated from Appalachian State University in
Boone, NC and did graduate work at the Universities of Delaware
and Michigan.
We are delighted to have you here today. I was reminded by
my Republican colleague that, in the middle of my opening
statement, there was a cry from a 3-year-old--in the middle of
my statement, I would note. I said, ``That is good--usually, I
put them to sleep.'' [Laughter.] But as a member of a very
large family, I take special delight in seeing that many of the
members of your family are here with you today. If you would be
good enough to introduce them, and if they would stand, our
committee would love to welcome them.
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, in respect of time, I would like to
introduce them all, and there are another 100 outside, but I
will probably just introduce my immediate family if that is all
right, in respect of time. [Laughter.]
The Chairman. Fine.
Mr. Henshaw. I will move from my right to left--my son,
John Paul, and one grandchild--I have four--Emily; and John
Paul's wife, Sandy; daughter, Whitney; and the little vocal
one, Schuyler--and she will be vocal her entire life, so be
prepared; my son-in-law, Rick; my mother, May; my wife, Jane--
and she is obviously a special person in my life, the brains
and the beauty behind the whole thing; my daughter, Shannon;
and my son, Josh.
The Chairman. Very good.
Mr. Henshaw. My sister is behind them, in blue, Carol; and
Marilyn is on the other side; and their husbands, Arnie and
Dick.
And everybody else, I am just going to leave unsaid. They
will get a chance to meet you, I am sure.
The Chairman. Fine.
Senator Wellstone. Mr. Chairman, I had some critical
questions, but I am not going to ask them now.
Mr. Henshaw. That is why I brought all of them. [Laughter.]
The Chairman. We are glad to have you and look forward to
your statement.
STATEMENT OF JOHN L. HENSHAW, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT, SAFETY,
AND HEALTH, ASTARIS, LLC, ST. LOUIS, MO
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I would like to start with my opening
remarks.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of
this committee. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before
you today as President George W. Bush's nominee for Assistant
Secretary of Labor for OSHA.
I want to thank first of all my wife, Jane--and I will
continue to thank her for my tenure in this position--and my
family and friends for their encouragement and support. As you
know, we are a product of our environment, and as I have
already explained, I have a good part of my environment here
today.
If I am confirmed, this job will consume a great deal of my
time and energy and require that I miss some of those family
events that I would normally participate in. A commitment to
public service and to fulfillment of the mandate under the
Occupational Safety and Health Act is not an easy task, and I
will depend on my family's continued support and understanding
as I proceed with this mission.
I have been in the business of safety and health for over
25 years. I am committed to what I do, and I would not have
even wanted to be considered for this position if I did not
seriously believe that the administration shared this
commitment. Like Secretary Chao, my top priority is the safety
and health of the American worker. I want to make a positive
difference in the safety and health of every working man and
woman in this great country, and the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration is where that objective can be realized.
If confirmed, it would be my honor to work with Secretary Chao
and with this committee to achieve our mutual goals.
Over the last 25 years, I have served in several
professional and corporate management positions in environment,
safety, industrial hygiene, quality assurance and compliance
assurance--which is auditing--for companies such as Monsanto
Company, Solutia Incorporated and, most recently, Astaris LLC,
a joint venture between Solutia and FMC Corporation, where I
served as director of environment, safety, and health.
During those years, I have also been very active in local
and national professional and trade associations and served on
numerous boards and committees associated with advancing safety
and health. Make no mistake--there are thousands of dedicated
managers, employees, association and union leaders, and safety
and health professionals in this Nation who are working toward
the same goal--effectively reducing workplace injuries and
illnesses. I believe OSHA should be a leader in this collective
effort. By working together with these stakeholders, we can
impact a result that is greater than the sum of individual
efforts.
In my career, I have seen firsthand the value of properly
developed and executed safety and health programs for large,
medium, and small businesses--programs that fit the culture of
the organization, programs that are effective, programs that
work in achieving injury and illness reductions, programs that
are consistently, forcefully, and fairly enforced.
I have also seen and experienced the business
interruptions, additional cost burdens, and resource diversions
that poorly-conceived programs, regulations, and enforcement
strategies have on today's business. Poorly-conceived programs
not only waste limited resources; they also undermine the
credibility of existing safety and health programs.
In the business world today, where global competition is
keen, health and safety professionals spend a considerable
amount of time articulating the value and effectiveness of good
safety and health programs. Improperly written programs or
regulations that are costly and ineffective in achieving their
intended purpose destroy or tarnish the value argument for
safety and health in general.
Mr. Chairman, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 remains a model for the entire world. In my opinion, the
workplaces in this country are the safest in the world because
of OSHA and the collaborative and collective efforts it has
inspired among employers, health and safety professionals,
labor organizations, professional and trade associations.
When the agency opened for business in April of 1971, a
year before I started my education in this field, OSHA covered
56 million workers at 3.5 million workplaces. Since then,
workplace fatalities have been cut by 60 percent, and
occupational injury and illness rates by 40 percent; while at
the same time, U.S. employment has nearly doubled to now 105
million workers at nearly 6.9 million worksites.
I am a believer in OSHA.
But those accomplishments provide us no resting point. The
agency must continue to lead this Nation toward further
reductions in injuries and illnesses. To be effective in this
endeavor, OSHA must maintain a forceful and fair enforcement
strategy using properly trained and skilled inspectors. Strong
and consistent enforcement serves as a deterrent to those who
may be tempted not to protect workers. Enforcement cannot be
diminished.
However, enforcement alone cannot reach all 6.9 million
worksites. By design, it is reactive in nature and provides
little proactive leadership in preventing workplace accidents
and illnesses. In addition to effective enforcement, Congress
has also instructed the agency in Section 2(b)(1) of the OSH
Act to accomplish its charge, quote, ``by encouraging employers
and employees in their efforts to reduce the number of
occupational safety and health hazards at their places of
employment and to stimulate employers and employees to
institute new and to perfect existing programs providing safe
and healthful working conditions.''
OSHA must continue to utilize creative partnerships,
voluntary programs like VPP that reach out to small and large
business alike, state-of-the-art education and training
programs, and effective compliance assistance.
OSHA must use all the tools in its tool bag. The hammer
must always be in our bag and used where necessary. But like a
good craftsman, we must know how to use all our tools and to
pick the right tool for the job.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to meet with
you today. I look forward to working with you and the
distinguished members of this committee as well as President
Bush, Secretary Chao, the career professionals in OSHA,
employers, employees, safety and health professionals and their
societies, labor and trade organizations, and many others as we
continue to reduce injuries and illnesses and to assure a safe
and healthful workplace for all working men and women of this
country.
Thank you. I will be glad to answer any questions.
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Henshaw.
We will have 8-minute rounds for questions, and I will ask
staff to remind us of the time.
Let me ask you, Mr. Henshaw, if you are confirmed as
Assistant Secretary for OSHA, what will be your major workplace
safety and health priorities? Let me ask it a little
differently. What do you think are the major problems and what
will be the major priorities? Maybe that is the same question,
but it might not necessarily be.
Mr. Henshaw. Mr. Chairman, coming from the private sector,
I can speak from where I see the agency, and once confirmed, I
will get more involved in the detail. But in general terms,
these are what I see as the issues, and they are fairly simple
in the sense that I see my mission as to improve the
credibility and effectiveness of OSHA, of the agency. To me,
that means really four different areas.
One area is strong and effective enforcement, and to be
effective, we have to have competent inspectors, as I mentioned
in my opening statement, and we have to have proper enforcement
strategies.
The second point is we want to focus on outreach and
education--and to that, we have to understand our customers,
all the individuals who have to comply with these regulations
and rules--and advance safety and health. We have got to
provide the proper outreach and the proper education to make
that happen.
The third point is to encourage and improve voluntary
efforts. There are a lot of voluntary efforts out there today,
and I would like to do my best to improve those; they are very
productive.
Finally, I think OSHA should be the leader in the national
dialogue in advancing safety and health. I think that in the
past, we may not have taken the opportunity to be that leader.
I think there are so many resources out there trying to do the
same thing and that OSHA ought to be taking a leadership role
in advancing that dialogue.
The Chairman. We note that there has been a reduction in
the President's budget proposal, which you obviously had no
control over, by $1.2 million, which translates into a real
decrease of 3 or 4 percent and the loss of 94 full-time-
equivalent jobs. So you are going to be heavily pressed, and I
think you will find after your confirmation, which I am
confident of, that the committee will want to make sure that
you have the kinds of both resources and personnel that are
necessary for you to do the job.
One of the major challenges that you are very familiar with
is the length of time it takes for OSHA--approximately 10
years--to develop and issue safety and health standards, even
when the hazards are well-recognized, and there is agreement
that regulation is needed.
Have you thought about what can be done to speed up the
standard-setting process so that workers are protected in a
timely way?
Mr. Henshaw. Mr. Chairman, obviously, I was not involved in
the budgetary process or any prioritization processes. If I am
confirmed, one of the first things I would do is analyze the
resources that we have available given the budget that we have
available and the various activities and prioritize those
appropriately.
So I have not really gotten into any detail in respect to
how that priority would look. I do know that we have some
pressing issues today, and those pressing issues will take a
major part of our effort in the first few months at least of
this administration.
The Chairman. One of the primary areas will be the issue of
ergonomics and development of regulations. Some have claimed
that employers do not understand how to implement ergonomic
programs and make ergonomic adjustments in the workplace, that
it is too costly or not feasible. You implemented an ergonomics
program at Monsanto, and Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill has
spoken eloquently about the benefits of ergonomics programs he
instituted at Alcoa. I toured Alcoa with Secretary O'Neill, and
I can tell you that that program works.
Do you believe that there are successful ergonomics
programs in existence now?
Mr. Henshaw. Yes, sir, I do. We did have an integrated--and
I use the word ``integrated'' because to me, repetitive motion
injuries or hazards are one of the many hazards we have to
handle in today's workplace--so we did not have an ergonomics
program per se, but it was integrated into the total safety and
health program. That program was centered around recognizing
all hazards associated with the workplace, identifying the
corrective measures that would be necessary to reduce injuries.
How each individual company may address that, I do not know. I
know how we did it in my previous practice, and it was quite
effective.
The Chairman. Well, this is important, because even in the
regulations that were effectively suspended, they gave the
maximum flexibility. There had to already be an injury in the
particular company, and then there was flexibility by the
company in developing its program. So this is an issue which
this committee is very interested in. There are obviously
divisions, but I believe there is very strong support for
effective regulations in this area.
Can we have your assurance that you will work with the
committee and with us--work with the administration, but also
work with us--to try to deal effectively with this issue?
Mr. Henshaw. Yes, sir, you do.
The Chairman. There are some who claim that ergonomics is
``junk science.'' I guess you would not agree with that
characterization.
Mr. Henshaw. I do not know the context in which that was
made.
The Chairman. All right. That is fair enough.
Mr. Henshaw. Obviously, repetitive trauma injuries and
illnesses are real, and we need to address them appropriately.
The Chairman. My time is moving on, and I want to ask you
about--and I mentioned this to you just prior to the hearing--a
July 29 article in The Chicago Tribune that detailed how
workers in electronics, recycling, machining, and the dental
industry among others have been harmed by exposure to highly
toxic beryllium metal. The article states that employers are
not complying with OSHA and that OSHA is not enforcing
regulations and guidelines covering beryllium. For example, on
a spot-check of 30 businesses working with beryllium, the
newspaper found that none of the companies was following OSHA's
recommended safeguards. The newspaper found that OSHA rarely
inspects the companies handling beryllium.
Are you aware of health problems caused by exposure to
beryllium?
Mr. Henshaw. I know of the toxicology and the standards
associated with preventing those kinds of injuries. I do not
know the circumstances of which you are speaking.
The Chairman. That is fine. I mentioned that, and in
fairness, you had not seen the article before, and I do not
expect you to be able to comment on it other than to give the
assurance that wherever these beryllium or other kinds of
hazards, you are going to be vigilant in terms of ensuring that
the greatest protection possible will be there for those
workers.
Mr. Henshaw. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. After you are confirmed, will you review that
situation and let us know what your own reaction is to that
particular problem?
Mr. Henshaw. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. My time is up.
Senator Enzi?
Senator Enzi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I particularly want
to thank you for bringing Mr. Henshaw's hearing up today and
will, of course, appreciate any efforts that are made to
expedite getting the appointment completed so that we have
people on staff so that we do not have vacancies over there and
they can take care of that. So I do thank you very much for
that.
The Chairman. We will attempt, Mr. Henshaw, after we
complete the hearing, which I anticipate we will, to work to
see if we cannot get the approval prior to the August break.
That would be my intention, and Senator Enzi, if you can help
us to work that out with our Republican colleagues, we would be
glad to try to do that--we do not want to anticipate, Mr.
Henshaw. We have still got to go over on this side of the aisle
and hold out that little carrot. [Laughter.]
Mr. Henshaw. I am anxious; I am ready.
Senator Enzi. I do want to join the chairman in his
comments about the need for funds as well. I would be
interested in your evaluation of your budget. I have also
appreciated the effort on both sides of the aisle to see that
funding increases that came in were divided between the
enforcement and the consultation. I think that that has been a
very helpful trend for bringing both sides together to make
sure we do have a concentration in safety.
In light of the ergonomics questions that you just had, I
cannot help but mention that in following the press this week,
I noticed that California, often considered a leader in all
kinds of laws and one of the States that I mentioned during the
debate on ergonomics, had about one and a half pages of
regulations. Somebody must have decided they needed to review
that since they only had one and a half pages of regulations on
ergonomics, so they took a look at whether to incorporate what
we had looked at on the Federal level as a California law, and
I noticed that they rejected it. So I am hoping that any
reviews that are done on that take into consideration and
hopefully some review of why they chose to reject what we also
rejected.
But that is not where my concentration of questions will
be, of course. One of the things that I found in my time here
is that the VPP program, which is a program that is pretty much
limited to big companies that are able to put a professional on
staff to spend his or her time reviewing health situations, has
made a dramatic change in major businesses in the country. I
would be interested in making that a permanent program, making
it a part of law, and I would be interested in your viewpoint
on that.
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I am a very strong supporter of
voluntary efforts, efforts that will encourage groups to take
initiative on their own and devise and be innovative in how to
advance the safety and health of various work forces. So I
would be interested in any kind of voluntary effort to ensure
that innovation and dialogue continue. I think the VPP program
is an excellent program for those who choose to accept it and
use it.
There should be other tools in our toolbox where we can
encourage others who may be at a different level than the VPP
sites to use those tools and to advance the safety and health
of the work force.
Senator Enzi. Something that has disturbed me--I used to
fill out reports for some of the companies on accidents, and I
knew that that had to be in by January 31 and that it had to be
posted on the bulletin board. So I was anxious to see what
kinds of accidents there were around the Nation when I got back
here, and I was very distressed to find out that I could not
get--I could not get--access to the most frequent accidents,
the most frequent body parts that are injured. I started
looking at some of the compilation and found out that nothing
is done with a lot of this effort. It would be my hope that I
could encourage you to be more a part of the reporting process
so we can get that out to people and that you would take a look
at it and see how we can make that more effective. I would be
interested in any ideas that you might have on that.
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I agree, and coming from the private
sector, that is precisely what we did with our own data. We
analyzed our data to find out what kinds of injuries, and that
helped us to direct our resources in the right area.
So to the extent that I can impact the way we record data
and the way we analyze data, I will do that. It is a useful
tool.
Senator Enzi. Thank you.
Another thing that I have done is looked at some of the
safety records, and I have found that those States that are
State plan States seem to have a lower accident rate. Would you
care to reflect on that and tell me how you think the Federal
effort ought to go in regard to State plan States or
encouraging more States? What do you think can be done there?
Mr. Henshaw. Certainly, Senator, I have seen similar
reports about State plan effectiveness and State plan programs,
and there must be something there, because certainly the data
show that some of them are much safer and have lower incidence
rates.
What causes that, I do not know, and it would be
speculation on my part to speculate now as to what the reasons
are. However, it seems appropriate to encourage more States to
take that action. Again, anything we can do to advance safety
and health, we ought to try, and that could be one of the tools
in our tool box to get more States to come up with State plan
programs.
Senator Enzi. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Wellstone?
Senator Wellstone. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, Mr. Henshaw, the chairman asked you the
question, and I think your answer was important--that is to
say, as a certified industrial hygienist and safety
professional, the chairman asked whether you thought excessive
repetition, force, and manual handling put workers at increased
risk, and I think you said that yes, it is a problem.
Then, the second part was about ``junk science,'' and you
did not know the context of that quote. Obviously, we are
focused on the National Academy of Sciences study which we
think is terribly important.
Let me ask you this. Have you made a determination in your
own mind as to what the approach of OSHA should be, and in
particular, have you ruled out the possibility that OSHA should
do a rule?
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I am coming at this with sort of a
fresh set of eyes, because I was not involved in the previous
ergonomics rule. I have not read any of the record that is on
record of the previous rule, nor have I been involved in the
development and reading the information that came through the
recent forums on ergonomics.
I think it is very appropriate for us to review the
appropriate information and then study that information,
analyze it, and determine what our next steps are. Certainly
the options, as the Secretary laid out, are within our realm,
and we need to consider all of those. What the decision is as
far as going forward, we have to wait until we review all of
the information--or, I have to review all of the information.
Senator Wellstone. At last month's hearings on repetitive
stress injuries, I raised some concerns about particular
industries where we have seen a significant jump in repetitive
stress injury rates. Some examples I gave, just looking over
the last several years, included from 1998 to 1999, actually,
just a one-year period, veterinary services, 80 percent
increase; finishing plants, cotton, 202 percent increase;
plastics, bottles, 132 percent increase; computer and data
processing services, 53 percent increase.
Have you looked at the comparative repetitive stress injury
rates? Is it something that you think OSHA should pay attention
to? And I guess my question is whether you can make a
commitment today that you will for sure look at the data and at
other data OSHA might have, and then report back to the
committee on your findings and what course of action we could
take.
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I do not know the data to which you
refer; I have not seen those data. My experience has really
come from a different side, and I am coming into this, as I
said, cold. I have not reviewed the previous record nor the
information that we are receiving today and until tomorrow,
when I think the record closes for the forum gathering
information. I have not read that.
However, it is appropriate--I would not be a responsible
professional if I did not consider all relevant data before we
make decisions on what the next steps are. We have committed--
the Secretary has committed, and I am very much in agreement
with this commitment--we will review the information, and we
will determine what the next steps are in September.
Senator Wellstone. This source was the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Department of Labor.
On the ergonomics record, when you say you are going to now
build the record, you are not saying that the prior OSHA record
is not appropriate, are you? You did not mean to suggest that,
did you?
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I have not seen the previous
information. All I can say is that going forward, we have to
review all the appropriate information, and should the old
record contain appropriate information, that needs to be
included.
Senator Wellstone. Before I run out of time, I received a
letter from the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, IBEW, in regard to a situation with respect to an
electric power line contractor that I would appreciate your
investigating. I do not have firsthand information or knowledge
about all of this, but if it is accurate, this is a serious
problem that I think illustrates some of the inadequacies of
the current OSHA penalties--the inadequacy of the ``hammer''
that you talked about.
I will give you a copy of the letter and ask if you would
take a look at it, but the essentials are that this contractor
operates in a five-State area spanning from Oklahoma to Georgia
and employs linemen, equipment operators, apprentices and
groundsmen who work on voltages ranging from 120 volts to as
high as 500,000 volts. There have been unusual numbers of
deaths, dismemberments, and major illnesses; 12 fatalities in
less than 9 years, 10 of which have occurred in the last 4
years, with fines totalling--are you ready for this--$337,000.
So there is a pattern. You have a fatality, it is
investigated by OSHA, there is a fine, the contractor
negotiates the fine down, it goes into the history books and is
forgotten.
My question is whether you would be willing to look into
this matter--again, I will give you the letter--and report back
to the committee on your findings and maybe what course of
action OSHA could take. And would you include in that review
whether this kind of situation might call for more stringent
penalties. As you know, I have been a little confused as to
why, when the employer--and thank God, there are not very
many--but when the employer willfully takes action which leads
to the death of worker, it is still a misdemeanor.
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I have not seen what you are
referring to. Clearly, I think that strong enforcement has to
be a deterrent; it has to be a deterrent to those employers who
choose not to do the right thing and choose not to protect
their employees.
What that number is, what the proper approach is, may vary.
I would be willing to work with you on that issue if confirmed.
Senator Wellstone. I appreciate it.
I will just take the final minute that I have, and again, I
want to talk about your emphasis on enforcement--and I
appreciate that. The budget--and the chairman mentioned this--
that the administration has submitted basically flat-lines this
when it comes to OSHA. My question is whether or not we can
have adequate enforcement with this budget. It is interesting--
we have 2,000 Federal and State OSHA inspectors responsible for
enforcing the law at nearly 8 million workplaces; by contrast,
we have 10,000 meat inspectors for a couple of hundred plants.
So I am not sure that the resources at this point in time are
sufficient, and I wanted to ask you--it is not a trick
question, but I ask it with a twinkle in my eye--whether you
would join with us in trying to get some additional
appropriations for OSHA enforcement.
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, obviously, if confirmed, resources is
going to be a very sensitive subject for me. To accomplish our
goals, we need to make sure that we have the proper resources.
However, at the same time, once confirmed, I need to go in
and look at the priorities, look at where we are spending money
and in which areas.
Also, we need to recognize that, as I mentioned in my
testimony, in this tool box, the hammer is needed for some
situations; in other situations, other tools will be needed. We
need to make sure that we have those tools ready to apply in
those circumstances.
So once confirmed, I will be glad to look at our resources
and make sure they are allocated appropriately.
Senator Wellstone. I have other questions, but I am out of
time.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Senator Clinton?
Senator Clinton. Mr. Chairman, I would like the record to
note that Mr. Henshaw's granddaughters fell asleep before I
began my testimony. [Laughter.]
Senator Wellstone. I would like the record to show that it
was before I started my questioning. [Laughter.]
Senator Clinton. I think that is a matter of some debate.
The Chairman. Let us blame Enzi.
Senator Wellstone. It was over there; it was Enzi, it was
Enzi. I watched it. [Laughter.]
Senator Clinton. I think it might have been a bipartisan
effort. It just shows their good sense.
Senator Enzi. I am willing to claim responsibility for
having a soothing effect on young people. [Laughter.]
Senator Clinton. Mr. Henshaw, we are delighted to welcome
you here today, and I am personally very pleased that the
President has nominated someone of your caliber and concern to
head this important governmental function.
To be director of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration is really to be the symbol of worker safety in
our country and to stand on the shoulders of so many people
going back 100 years who began the march toward concern about,
in the first instance, and then action on behalf of workers.
From your record and everything that I have been able to learn
about you, you are a worthy successor to all those who have
come before.
I want to reiterate a comment that the chairman made in his
opening statement, and that is that we have seen what a
difference leadership makes in OSHA. During the 1980's, there
was a systematic weakening of OSHA, and under the guise of so-
called regulatory reform, regulations were rolled back, and
enforcement was weakened to the point of being meaningless. The
result, to no one's surprise, was that workplace injuries
actually increased significantly.
During the past 8 years, there has been a greater focus on
enforcement and standard-setting, supplemented and balanced by
the kind of compliance assistance and outreach and training and
education that you, from your experience, know is essential.
You cannot just issue regulations and point fingers at
business; you have to be there to help them understand what the
potential safety hazards are and work with them to resolve
those. In fact, this focus led to a significant decrease in
injuries. So we know what works. We know that best practices
and the kind of balance and experience that you bring before us
today is a very important statement about the priority that
OSHA should have.
I think it is understandable that a number of us are
concerned about the action taken early on in this Congress to
roll back the ergonomics regulation, and we are going to look
to you to help us sort all of this out. I think many of us
would have been willing to listen to legitimate concerns even
though this standard had been 10 years in the making and was
based on very solid research from the National Academy of
Sciences, but that is water over the dam, and the issue now is
how do we protect workers in the modern workplace. We know that
the modern workplace requires a lot of small motor movements;
it is not principally toting and lifting and bending so much as
movements on a keyboard or on a repetitive assembly line.
So we are going to look to you to help us try to ensure
that the modern workplace is as safe as it possibly can be.
I know, too, that the balance between enforcement and
education is a very important one to you, and I think we could
do with some re-education about the importance of workplace
safety, and that is not only aimed at employers but really at
the public in general.
I want to mention one area of specific concern. Over the
past several weeks, Newsday, one of New York's great
newspapers, has run a very thoughtful series on the issues of
terrible safety and health risks faced by immigrant workers in
our Nation. The series was based on a 10-month investigation by
Newsday reporter Tom Mayer. I would ask, Mr. Chairman, that
this series be submitted for the record of this hearing.
The Chairman. It will be so included.
[The documents referred are in Newsday, July 22, 24, 25,
and August 16, 2001.]
Senator Clinton. News Day reports that OSHA has done little
to educate business, let alone enforce Federal Government
safety and health standards in industries where mostly
immigrants are employed. And with the President's recent
statements of concern about the immigrants in our country and
with the recognition that immigrants are doing many of the jobs
that keep our economy going and in fact have really fueled a
lot of our economic growth, it seems inappropriate, if not
grossly unfair, to subject these people to unsafe working
conditions.
The series reported additionally that OSHA rarely
investigates the deaths of immigrant workers on the job. In
fact, the newspaper's reporting concluded that at least 874
immigrant deaths nationwide were not reviewed by safety
inspectors, including 202 incidents in New York alone.
So I hope that this will be a priority for OSHA under your
leadership. I believe that we should be just as concerned about
an unsafe workplace for an immigrant who is trying to improve
the lot of himself and his family as we would someone whose
family has been here since the Mayflower. It should not matter;
our workplaces should be safe.
So I would ask, too, that you perhaps take a look at what
could be done. Some of it may go to the budget--that has
already been raised--so that we have adequate inspectors to try
to protect 874 deaths nationwide. And I think maybe you could
help us hold an oversight hearing, since you are beginning your
tenure, to find out what we can do better and how we can help
you do the best possible job for this.
Based on your experience, do you have just any initial
thoughts about what the agency could do to provide more
support, both for the businesses that employ largely immigrant
workers and for the immigrants themselves so that we do not
have to read about these kinds of statistics?
Mr. Henshaw. Senator, I appreciate that question and
comment. I have read some of those accounts, and I share your
concern.
I really cannot speculate as to why or the detail around
those issues. Certainly we need to address it. Our objective
and the mandate by Congress is to cover all workers, and we
must do that. I think we also have to make sure that employers
know what their obligations are; and that includes reporting. I
can only speculate that possibly there might be unreporting
because they are immigrants, and that is a concern.
But I would be glad to work with you and others on this
committee to make sure we cover all workers, including
immigrants.
Senator Clinton. I look forward to working with you on this
issue and on the other important matters under your
jurisdiction. And I am delighted that your entire family--and
the 100 more out in the hall--could be here today. I thank you
for your commitment to bringing the kind of expertise and
balance to this agency that we know makes it work.
Thank you very much.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
If there are no other questions, we will leave the record
open briefly, and we will do the best we can to expedite your
confirmation.
We want to thank you very much, Mr. Henshaw. I think you
have gotten the sense that we want to work very closely with
you and that you will get broad support from our committee, and
we look forward to working with you in the future.
Mr. Henshaw. Thank you, Senator.
The Chairman. The committee stands in recess.
[Additional material follows:]
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Prepared Statement of Senator Carnahan
I regret that I was unable to attend this hearing due to a conflict
with another Committee meeting. But I want the Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee to know of my support for Mr. Henshaw's
nomination to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and protect the
health of America's workers.
Since OSHA was created in 1971, occupational deaths have been cut
in half and injuries have,declined by 40 percent. I believe that these
figures demonstrate the important role that OSHA has played, and should
continue to play, in promoting workplace safety.
Protecting American workers, however, is an ongoing challenge. In
1999, approximately 6.3 of every 100 workers experienced a job-related
injury or illness. And 6,023 workers lost their lives on the job.
Mr. Henshaw's challenge will be to improve the agency's performance
to ensure that the more than 100 million American workers who depend on
OSHA will have a safe place to work.
I am pleased that President Bush has put forward such an eminently
qualified Missourian. Mr. Henshaw is a safety and health professional.
For the past two decades, he has held a number of different positions
in which he has been responsible for ensuring safe workplaces.
Mr. Henshaw has authored a number of articles and made a variety of
presentations on health and safety for trade publications and different
organizations.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to support this nomination, and I look
forward to working with Mr. Henshaw once he is confirmed. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
[Whereupon, at 11:01 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]