[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3337-H3338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              OSHA CUT WOULD DELAY PROTECTION FOR WORKERS

  (Mr. OWENS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, the action of the House last week in passing 
the DeLay amendment, which cut an additional $3.5 million from the 
current year budget for the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, was reckless, counterproductive, and just plain stupid. 
In the name of stopping the ergonomics standard, the House made cuts 
that cannot and will not stop work on the standard, but will hurt 
health and safety by cutting workplace inspections and consultation 
visits. Thousands of workers will be hurt, and some may die if these 
cuts are allowed to stop the effort to make our workplaces less 
dangerous.
  Mr. DeLay says we have to send a signal to OSHA not to ignore the 
moratorium bill. But that bill is not law; we do not have a one-House 
veto. Mr. DeLay cannot singlehandedly delay progress. And the Senate 
probably is not going to pass the silly moratorium bill in any event.
  OSHA is following the law and doing the right thing--precisely what 
we all tell them we want--working with the business community, checking 
out their ideas in the field, consulting with 
[[Page H3338]] workers and managers. At this point there is no 
ergonomics proposal, just ideas in draft form for tackling the single 
biggest source of injuries to American workers. Why in the world would 
we tell the agency not to try to figure out a cost-effective way to 
protect workers from carpal tunnel syndrome and back injuries?
  Mr. Speaker, the DeLay amendment to delay protection for workers was 
reckless, counterproductive, and just plain stupid.


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