[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           OSHA'S NIGHTMARES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 1995, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Norwood] is recognized 
during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Madam Speaker, I have for you today a couple of OSHA 
nightmares which illustrate OSHA's overbearing enforcement policies. 
Although OSHA eventually dropped the charges in both cases, I think 
they still provide valuable insight into the mentality of an out-of-
control agency.
  In the first OSHA nightmare, a Maine dentist, Dr. Jeffrey Grosser, 
was fined $17,500 as the result of an OSHA office inspection. The fines 
included an $8,000 infection control citation and a $7,000 citation for 
improper hazardous materials information and training.
  OSHA charged that Dr. Grosser's employees ``were exposed to the 
hazard of being infected with hepatitis B and/or HIV through possible 
direct contact with blood or other body fluids.'' However, Dr. 
Grosser's only employee is a receptionist who does not work with 
patients. For that, Dr. Grosser incurred an $8,000 infection control 
fine.
  So what, you may ask did Dr. Grosser do in the case of the $7,000 
fine?
  In this instance Dr. Grosser was charged $7,000 for not providing 
hazardous materials information and training.
  What were the hazardous materials in question?
  Chemical developer used in a self-contained x-ray machine and bleach 
used to mop the floor. That's right, ordinary household bleach.
  Madam Speaker, in the second OSHA nightmare, Dr. Steven Smunt was 
fined $4,400 for citations that included removing his eyeglasses when 
administering anesthetic to a child, and inadequately labeling a first-
aid kit that had a ``first-aid'' sticker on it.
  The sum $4,400 is a lot of money no matter what line of work you're 
in. Regulatory actions like this can only end up hurting consumers. 
This is particularly the case when this Nation is trillions of dollars 
in debt, and we are spending the money hard-working Americans send to 
us on OSHA nonsense like this.
  But, Madam Speaker, some people continue to believe that our 
regulatory reform efforts are wrong-headed. They think that all our 
regulations are fine and wonderful. Some people just do not get it. In 
this Sunday's Washington Post, Jessica Matthews wrote that our 
regulatory reform package was too drastic and based on false premises. 
Well Ms. Matthews, maybe it is OK with you that OSHA tried to declare 
bricks a poisonous substance. Maybe it is OK with you that OSHA wants 
you to get a environmental impact statement everyday you come to work, 
and maybe it is OK with you when OSHA writes new rules that cost an 
industry $2 billion but produce no measurable improvement in worker 
safety. Or maybe it is OK with you that regulations in this country 
cost us $500 billion annually--nearly $10 thousand for the average 
family of 4--maybe that is OK with you, but it is not OK with me, and 
it is not OK with the American people.
  OSHA is one agency that has turned a reasonable and important mission 
into a bureaucratic nightmare for the American economy. Common sense 
was long ago shown the door at OSHA. OSHA is one agency that needs to 
be restructured, reinvented, or just plain removed.


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