Masonry Magazine January 2005 Page. 11
be the party who interprets the law and provides an independent review of OSHA citations.
And lastly, the Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act would finally follow through on the promise of allowing small businesses to recover legal costs incurred when unnecessary enforcement actions are taken against them by OSHA.
Beyond focusing on these bills and others to improve and enhance OSHA legislatively in the 109th Congress, I plan to keep a close eye on potential new regulations regarding silica exposure from OSHA. There's no doubt that doing the utmost to reduce the potential for illness and disease at the workplace related to silica exposure is critically important. However, it's also critically important that OSHA continue to work with businesses to make darn sure that existing standards are being met, awareness and education are encouraged in the workplace, and every opportunity to reduce exposure within the current system is being utilized. The absolute last thing that needs to happen on this front is for OSHA to revert back to the "gotcha" mentality and heavy-handed ways of over-regulating that gave us the higher injury and illness rates of days gone by.
When it comes to safety on the job, results do matter. I look forward to working in Congress to help OSHA and America's businesses build on the good results from the past five years.
U.S. Representative Charlie Whitlow Norwood, Jr. is beginning his fifth term in Congress, currently representing Georgia's Ninth Congressional District. He is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the Education and Workforce Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health of the Energy and Commerce Committee. He is also the former Chairman of the G-8 Organization, comprised of the eight Georgia Republican members of Congress. Norwood is the 1995 recipient of the Fighting Frosh award by the United States Business and Industrial Council, which honors the freshman representative who shows the greatest willingness to battle excessive regulations and taxation.
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