[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3294-S3295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SMALL FARM RIDER AMENDMENT

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about an 
amendment regarding OSHA inspections of small farms, which I was 
prepared to offer to S. 544, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 
bill. To expedite the consideration of this emergency legislation, I 
withdrew my amendment, but I want my colleagues to know that I will 
continue to press this issue.
  As other Senators may know, the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, by statute, can enforce health and safety rules and 
investigate accidents on farms or businesses of any size.
  However, a rider prohibiting OSHA from expending funds to carry out 
its statutory duty with respect to small farms has been attached to 
Department of Labor appropriations bills for the past several years. 
Small farms are those that employ ten or fewer workers and do not 
maintain a camp for temporary employees.
  I want to emphasize that this prohibition extends even to the 
investigation of fatal, work-related accidents. I am not speaking of 
malicious acts leading to deaths on the job--law enforcement 
authorities are capable of addressing those circumstances. I am 
speaking of deaths caused by preventable health and safety hazards--
hazards that no agency other than OSHA has the capacity to address.
  Since the death of a sixteen-year-old Rhode Islander in an accident 
on a small farm in 1997, I have worked to address this issue.
  Mr. President, it is heartbreaking for a parent to send a child off 
to a summer job only to see him die in an accident, and it is 
infuriating for these parents to wonder whether other youngsters now 
working on that job are safe.
  I am sensitive to the concerns that some Senators will have about 
protecting the interests of family farms. That is why I have attempted 
to only moderately amend the current rider. Indeed, my amendment only 
allows OSHA access to small farms if there is a death, and only for 
investigation, not punitive action.
  I have advanced this proposal in the hope of disseminating 
information about the causes of fatalities in order to prevent repeat 
tragedies and to bring a sense of closure to families who lose a loved 
one.
  When I raised this issue during the markup of the Safety Advancement 
for Employees (SAFE) Act in the Labor and Human Resources Committee 
during the last Congress, several of my colleagues expressed a 
willingness to work with me on this issue. Regrettably, there is little 
the authorizing committee can do, because the problem stems from an 
appropriations rider, and an appropriations bill is where a correction 
should be made.
  Mr. President, agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in 
the United States today. We should take at least this minimal step to 
ensure the safety of agricultural employees.
  Last Fall, the National Research Council (NRC), an arm of the 
National Academy of Sciences (NAS), issued a report entitled Protecting 
Youth at Work. Among its recommendations was the following related to 
small farm safety:

       To ensure the equal protection of children and adolescents 
     from health and safety hazards in agriculture, Congress 
     should undertake an examination of the effects and 
     feasibility of extending all relevant Occupational Safety and 
     Health Administration regulations to agricultural workers, 
     including subjecting small farms to the same level of OSHA 
     enforcement as that applied to other small businesses.

  Mr. President, it is the opinion of the NAS panel that small farms 
should be subject to the same level of enforcement as all other small 
businesses. In comparison to this recommendation, my proposed amendment 
is moderate, because, again, my amendment only allows an OSHA 
inspection on a small farm following a fatal accident. The inspection 
could not result in fines or any other OSHA enforcement.
  During consideration of the SAFE Act in the 105th Congress, the Labor 
Committee voted for a provision requiring an NAS peer review of all new 
OSHA standards. Today, we have a report from the NAS making 
recommendations on OSHA enforcement on small farms. I hope that 
colleagues will keep that in mind and that they will remember that my 
amendment is not as extensive as the NAS recommendation.
  Mr. President, some have criticized my amendment as unfair to small 
farm owners. I am mystified by their argument. The only small farms to 
be impacted would be those where an employee dies in a work related 
accident. Then, the only imposition the business would face would be an 
investigation: no fines, no enforcement, and no regulation. If 
information could be disseminated to prevent just one of the 500 deaths 
that occur annually in the agriculture industry, I believe this minor

[[Page S3295]]

inconvenience would be worth it. I know my constituents who lost their 
son feel that way, and I would venture to guess that many other 
families would feel that way too.
  Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Specter, Chairman of the 
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, 
and Education, for his good faith efforts to address this issue. His 
commitment to continue working with me was a major reason for my 
decision not to proceed my amendment on the Supplemental Appropriations 
bill. I look forward to working with the Senator from Pennsylvania and 
other concerned Senators in the months ahead.

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