51·çÁ÷

On November 15, 2010, Senator Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, to the Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis expressing concerns over the direction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In particular, they detailed concerns about recent changes to OSHA’s administrative penalty policy and several proposed rulemakings that they believe will negatively impact small business.  Their overarching concerns relate to the administration’s lack of outreach to the small business community and reduced reliance on small business review panels to fully understand the economic impact administrative changes might have on small firms. Other issues addressed in the Senate letter are the proposed changes to the Onsite Consultation Program Agreement and eliminating funding for the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).  Many of the concerns highlighted in the Senate letter are identical to those raised by 51·çÁ÷ on behalf of our members during the respective review and comment periods.  51·çÁ÷ will continue to monitor activities concerning workplace safety and Congressional oversight efforts over the Obama Administration in the 112^th Congress. For more information, contact Kevin Cannon at (703 )837-5410 or cannonk@agc.org.