[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BREAUX (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. 
        Landrieu, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mrs. 
        Clinton, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, 
        Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. 
        Wellstone, Mr. Levin, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Reed, Mr. Harkin, Ms. 
        Mikulski, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Dayton, and Ms. 
        Cantwell):
  S. 2184. A bill to provide for the reissuance of a rule relating to 
ergonomics; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to join 
my colleague Senator Breaux in introducing legislation which would 
require the Secretary of Labor to issue a new ergonomics standard 
within two years of the bill's enactment. The measure is similar to 
legislation I cosponsored last year, S. 598, but includes additional 
provisions to ensure that a truly protective standard is issued.
  Following the overturning of the Clinton Administration's proposed 
ergonomics regulation by Congress in 2001, I expected the Department of 
Labor to issue a new rule to protect our Nation's workers. Rather than 
implement a new standard, however, the Department unveiled an 
ergonomics plan on April 5, 2002, that calls for voluntary industry 
guidelines, enforcement measures, and workplace outreach. I have 
concern that such an approach adequately addresses the safety of our 
Nation's workforce.
  I voted in favor of the Joint Resolution of Disapproval of the 
proposed ergonomics standard because I had concerns over its potential 
cost and complexity. Last year, as Chairman of the Labor, Health and 
Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, I held two 
hearings on this contentious matter where I heard from witnesses on 
both sides of the debate. They testified that the potential costs of 
the rule ranged from $4.5 billion to as much as $1 trillion. There was 
also considerable disagreement over whether the regulation needed to be 
as complex as it was. I came away from these hearings with the 
conclusion that there was a need for promoting worker safety. But I was 
also concerned as to whether the entire matter ought to be 
substantially simpler.
  I firmly believe that the best way to protect our Nation's workers 
from work-related musculoskeletal disorders and workplace hazards is 
for the Department of Labor to issue a new ergonomics standard, but one 
that is substantially simpler than the rule overturned last year. I had 
hoped that the Department would take action on its own to issue a new 
rule, and Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao left open this possibility 
in response to an inquiry I made prior to the ergonomics vote. She 
stated in a March 6, 2001, letter to me:

       Let me assure you that in the event a Joint Resolution of 
     Disapproval becomes law, I intend to pursue a comprehensive 
     approach to ergonomics which may include new rulemaking that 
     addresses the concerns levied against the current standard.

  The key word in her response was ``may,'' and I remain disappointed 
that the plan put forward by the Department of Labor does not include 
such a new rulemaking. For that reason, I believe it is important to 
press ahead with today's legislation.
 Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join as an 
original co-sponsor of S. 2184, which provides for reissuance by the 
Department of Labor of a rule to prevent repetitive stress injuries. 
Too much time has passed with too little action on what is acknowledged 
to be the most critical workplace safety issue we face. After a year of 
inaction and delay, it is clear that this Administration is not serious 
about protecting workers from repetitive stress injury hazards in the 
workplace. Congress must now step in and require the Department to act.
  This is a problem that affects countless numbers of workers. Each 
year, roughly 1.8 million workers suffer repetitive stress injuries on 
the job. That translates to 5000 injured workers a day, one worker 
injured every 18 seconds. Women suffer disproportionately from 
repetitive stress injuries. In particular, 67 percent of reported 
carpal tunnel cases and 61 percent of tendonitis cases are women, even 
though women comprise only 46 percent of the work force and account for 
only 33 percent of total workplace injuries.
  Notwithstanding the gravity of the problem, this Administration and 
its Republican allies in Congress saw fit to overturn the ten years of 
effort that went into developing an OSHA standard for protecting 
workers from repetitive stress injury hazards in the workplace. In its 
place, Secretary of Labor Chao and President Bush promised a 
``comprehensive plan'' to combat this serious workplace safety issue.
  Yet after months of delays and inaction, what the Department of Labor 
has now produced is a sham. It's emphasis on voluntariness, toothless 
enforcement, and unnecessary and duplicative research in my view turns 
the clock back to before the first Bush Administration when Secretary 
of Labor Lynn Martin initiated the repetitive stress injury rulemaking 
proceeding.
  Voluntary approaches alone have not protected workers from repetitive 
stress injuries. OSHA itself reports that only 16 percent of employers 
in general industry have put in place ergonomic programs to reduce 
hazards. Each year 1.8 million workers suffer repetitive stress 
injuries and recent Bureau of Labor Statistics reports show that injury 
numbers and rates are increasing, particularly in high risk industries 
and occupations.
  We have been as patient as possible with this Administration, but it 
is clear that they have no intention of addressing this problem in a 
serious manner. Time is running out for the millions of workers at risk 
of repetitive stress injury. Congress must act now. And we must act 
decisively.
  The bill we introduce today is a balanced approach to fashioning a 
repetitive stress injury standard that will benefit all workers. In 
particular it requires the Department of Labor to issue, within two 
years, a standard for addressing work-related repetitive stress 
injuries and workplace ergonomic hazards. The bill requires the new 
standard to describe in clear terms when an employer is required to 
take action, what actions the employer must take, and when an employer 
is in compliance with the standard. Under the bill's terms the new 
standard must emphasize prevention and cover workers at risk only where 
measures exist to control the hazards that are both economically and 
technologically feasible. The standard must be based on the best 
available evidence and employer experience with effective practices. 
Finally, the bill clarifies that the new rule cannot expand the 
application of state workers' compensation laws, it requires the 
Department of Labor to issue information and training materials, and 
provides the Department with authority and flexibility to issue an 
appropriate standard.
  In sum, this bill represents a balanced and comprehensive approach to 
dealing with the most serious workplace safety issue we face. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this measure. Action on the issue 
of repetitive stress injury is long overdue.
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