More Regulation

Floor Speech

Mr. WALBERG. With Michigan's unemployment rate consistently higher than the national average, I remain committed to thoroughly reviewing the implications of burdensome regulations that have the potential to overwhelm my State's and country's job creators.

A current effort by the Department of Labor is a new standard being considered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration called the Injury and Illness Prevention Program, or I2P2. The standard will require all employers to implement safety and health programs to ``find and fix'' all hazards in their workplace, even those not otherwise regulated.

This regulation could potentially impact every employer covered by OSHA unless OSHA exempts small employers or those with less hazardous workplaces. Many employers who voluntarily issued safety and health programs have improved their workplaces' safety culture, but there are serious problems about this standard that OSHA has not addressed.

The moment this regulation gets issued, safety and health programs will go from being a good idea to a legal requirement, which means employers will have to meet OSHA's standards rather than what works best for them and their employees and what is indicated as best in best practices.

OSHA will have the authority to come in and second-guess an employer about how well they have implemented their program. Not surprisingly then, job creators see the I2P2 regulation as just another OSHA enforcement tool rather than something that will help them enhance their safety practices.

But they're not the only ones.

A recent RAND study found that California's I2P2 regulation, which has been in place since 1991, has not prevented workplace fatalities and barely made a dent in total injury prevention. Many job creators are worried that OSHA will double dip on citations, issuing one citation for a hazard and another citation because the safety and health program failed to detect and correct the hazard. Talk about double jeopardy.

Finally, another problem is whether employers will be required to find and fix ergonomics hazards. The Clinton administration issued an ergonomic regulation in 2000 that was shot down, thankfully, by Congress.

OSHA will soon hold a small business panel to ask job creators across the country their opinion and insight on I2P2. I hope the Obama administration, against its pattern, listens to the concerns of these business owners instead of imposing a costly regulation that we have proof will not improve worker safety. Imposing a new and costly safety and health program standard will only serve to increase OSHA enforcement with no visible improvement to worker safety and safe health.

As Ronald Reagan once said:

It is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work for us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back.

It's my hope we remain committed to this principle and ensure that regulations ensure both productivity and job creation and true health and safety of our workforce.

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