FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 13, 2000 |
Contact: Becky Campoverde or Dan Lara (202) 225-4527 |
Statement of Republican
Workforce Committee Members WASHINGTON
– House Education and the
Workforce Committee Chairman Bill Goodling (R-PA) and Workforce
Protections Subcommittee Chairman Cass Ballenger (R-NC) issued the
following statement today regarding the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) publishing a final ergonomics standard:
“We are very disappointed that the Clinton-Gore Administration
decided to issue a final ergonomics standard, right in the middle of
ongoing negotiations to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of both
Congress and the administration.
Last week, language to allow OSHA to issue the standard and to give
a new president the option to quickly rescind the regulations was agreed
to in principle. OSHA’s rush
to issue the standard, however, demonstrates that the administration had
no intention of negotiating in good faith. “What OSHA Administrator
Charles Jeffress fails to realize is that an ergonomics regulation would
be a substantial mandated cost on American companies and the economy. OSHA’s own conservative estimate
shows that the regulation could cost $4.2 billion per year. Some estimates show the cost could
easily reach $100 billion per year.” “Why are we concerned? As we have repeatedly said in the
past, there is a great deal of scientific and medical uncertainty and
debate about repetitive stress disorders and ergonomics. In fact, the number of ‘ergonomic’ injuries has been
steadily declining in recent years.
Furthermore, our committee hearings on the subject demonstrated
that there does not yet exist a consensus among professionals on the cause
and effects of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. “Both the House and Senate went on record this year opposing OSHA’s plans to rush forward with the standard before a congressionally-mandated study of the issue by the National Academy of Science is completed early next year. OSHA chose to ignore the will of Congress in this regard.
“We are not surprised by OSHA’s action because it follows a pattern
of overstepping authority and issuing controversial new policies, which
have no sound scientific basis and which are not supported by public
opinion. The same
organization (OSHA) for instance, came out with a shortsighted and
dangerous proposal earlier this year to extend its regulatory reach into
private homes around the country.
Only after a significant and justified public outcry and
congressional scrutiny did OSHA retreat on this misguided plan, which
would have jeopardized telecommuting programs and the constitutional
rights of individuals around the country.
“The ergonomics standard is yet another example of OSHA’s
aggressive regulatory approach, which emphasizes enforcement over
cooperation and creates a one-size-fits-all answer to a complex issue with
no clear scientific solution.
We are disappointed that OSHA chose to move forward, even before
the outcome of last week’s presidential election is known. ### |