GOP Split on OSHA Reform

Republican House and Senate members will pursue separate legislative vehicles and strategies for reform of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration this session, sources say--further jeopardizing any hope among reform supporters that such a bill might pass in an election year.

Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Judd Gregg, R-N.H., will pursue their all- encompassing reform bill, while House Education and the Workforce Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Cass Ballenger, R- N.C., will attempt to move eight separate bills with targeted OSHA reforms.

While House and Senate Republicans each believe their respective strategy holds the most promise for moving a bill before the end of this Congress, aides conceded the lack of a bicameral, unified plan makes final passage more difficult.

The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee in October approved the Enzi-Gregg bill on a party-line vote, despite a veto threat from Labor Secretary Alexis Herman.

The Enzi-Gregg plan, which they molded from their individual proposals, would prohibit the citation of companies that violate workplace safety rules "unless the employer knew or, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, would have known of the presence of an alleged violation." The bill also would allow companies to hire private sector consultants to inspect their workplaces. If an employer earns a compliance certificate from a private inspector, "the employer shall be exempt from assessment of any civil penalty for two years unless the employer has not made good faith effort to remain in compliance," according to the bill summary.

Democrats and the Clinton administration have called those provisions "non-starters." Enzi met during the recess with Senate Labor and Human Resources ranking member Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Clinton administration officials to see if a compromise can be reached. But a Kennedy spokesman said, "There's no room for compromise based on what we've seen so far."

Meanwhile, aides acknowledged there has been no sign from the Senate leadership that OSHA reform will be included in the Senate floor agenda. In the House, Ballenger plans to mark up his eight bills in his subcommittee by the end of March, an aide said. But they have no plans to take up the Enzi-Gregg plan, which is sponsored in the House by Small Business Committee Chairman James M. Talent, R-Mo.--whose panel will hold a hearing on the OSHA reform issue Thursday.

Ballenger's bills would authorize grants to states for small business inspection consultation services; protect businesses from liability for their own voluntary inspections; create more scientific peer review; require fair notice of proposed workplace standards; give employers greater flexibility to meet standards; prohibit inspection and penalty quotas for OSHA inspectors; clarify who is an employer on a multi-employer construction worksite; and relieve small businesses from large OSHA penalties.

Ballenger feels it will be easier to move small bills than a larger, all-encompassing bill. Ballenger, an aide said, also believes Enzi's plans for third-party auditors creates liability problems.