[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 59 (Thursday, March 30, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4011-H4012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            OSHA'S REGULATORY EXCESSES HURT SMALL BUSINESSES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Norwood] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I bring today a new story from what is now 
getting to be a very old textbook.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a common misconception among people that OSHA's 
regulatory excesses only hurt big businesses. I have spoken on this 
floor many times about the pain OSHA has caused small businesses. 
However, today, Mr. Speaker, I bring to you the nightmare OSHA has 
caused a non-profit charity organization.
  A good friend of mine, Merle Temple, headed a charity group that 
worked to produce health care for the disadvantaged. They worked very 
hard to give the elderly, the shut-ins, and the disabled health care 
services they so badly needed.
  They worked to help get these people to become self-sufficient, 
particularly in their own homes. They set up a food bank to try to get 
food to people who needed help toward the end of the month. Merle's 
group did the types of things, Mr. Speaker, we should champion in this 
Nation.
  As is the case with many non-profit organizations, Merle's group was 
heavily dependent upon contributions to make ends meet, and they were 
barely scraping by. In an effort to keep their costs low, they ran 
their services out of a basically run-down office. They did not spend 
money on extravagant office furniture and machines. That would have 
taken away money from those people who really needed the help.
  Soon after moving into their low-rent office, Merle discovered that 
the attic had a problem with squirrels. Again, always thinking about 
cost, Mr. Temple chose to take care of the squirrels himself. He could 
have spent money on an exterminator, but that would have taken money 
away from the needy.
  However, this turned out to be a very large mistake. In trying to get 
rid of the squirrels, he put mothballs in the attic. The mothballs ran 
off the squirrels but it attracted the skunks.
  Someone complained to the local OSHA office about the smell of these 
mothballs, and in a sweep, the OSHA storm troopers rushed in. OSHA 
fined a non-profit organization, an organization dedicated to bringing 
health care to the needy, $700, $700.
  Merle appealed the fine, and the sweethearts over at OSHA relented. 
They reduced the fine to a mere $350. They could not possibly let 
Merle's group off the hook completely. After all, they didn't have the 
standard OSHA workplace poster; $350 for a poster from a non-profit 
group trying to take care and help people. Mr. Speaker, that $350 would 
have stocked their food bank for a month.
  Of course, Mr. Speaker, my friend Merle paid the $350 out of his 
pocket, but OSHA really did not care where they got the money from, 
only that they got the money.
  To those of you on the other side who complained long and loud about 
Republicans taking food from people, to those of you who think that 
Government is always the answer, I would suggest that you take a look 
at how Government regulation can take food from the needy right now.
  Mr. Speaker, OSHA just doesn't hurt big business. OSHA just doesn't 
hurt 
[[Page H4012]] small business. OSHA is more than willing to turn loose 
its claws on a non-profit organization. OSHA is one agency that has 
turned a reasonable and an important mission into a bureaucratic 
nightmare for the American economy and the American people. Common 
sense was long ago shown the door at OSHA. OSHA is one agency that 
needs to be restructured or reinvented or, Mr. Speaker, just maybe 
plain removed.

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