ASSE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE

Dear ASSE Member:

ASSE is deeply troubled that a highly valued leader of the occupational safety and health (OSH) community is set to lose his job. From information that ASSE has learned, John Howard will be forced out as director of NIOSH on July 5 unless Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt personally reverses a decision by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) leadership not to reappoint Dr. Howard.

For the last several years, CDC leadership has engaged in an effort to limit NIOSH through budget cuts and reorganizations. During that time, ASSE has consistently supported John Howard's leadership of NIOSH and championed the need to keep NIOSH a strong and independent resource for OSH research and education. Examples of this support can be found at

Failing to reappoint John Howard could prove to be a final blow to NIOSH's effectiveness. What is there to lose? ASSE fears these achievements will be lost --

  • The active outreach to safety and health practitioners and ASSE that has brought research results funded through NIOSH directly to the job site where our members work.

  • Greatly improved integration of the OSH community in setting NIOSH’s research agenda as evidenced by the significantly increased involvement of our members and others in OSH in the NORA agenda-setting process.

  • Leadership in addressing the safety and health risks of emerging technologies, most notably nanotechnology.

  • Increased accountability for NIOSH’s research programs by inviting examination through the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, thereby assuring that this nation’s investment in occupational safety and health research is well placed.

Most importantly, ASSE believes strongly that John Howard shares our understanding that NIOSH needs to do much more to advance safety research and training opportunities.

Please join ASSE in making sure HHS Secretary Leavitt reappoints John Howard. I urge you to send an e-mail message like the one below (a personalized message is always best ) to Secretary Leavitt to tell him you support John Howard. And please do it ASAP. July 5, the final day of his current appointment, is fast approaching. (Please blind copy your e-mail to dheidorn@asse.org so we can measure our members' response.) Pass this message on, and think especially of asking your employer to join you in this effort.

To: mike.leavitt@hhs.gov

Subject: URGENT: Reappoint John Howard to Lead NIOSH

Dear Secretary Leavitt:

I am a safety, health and environmental professional who is troubled to learn that the CDC will not reappoint John Howard as Director of NIOSH. John Howard has been a creative, dynamic leader who has made NIOSH a more effective and successful federal agency to the credit of the Department of Health and Human Services and this Administration . That effectiveness was achieved despite continued efforts by CDC to cut NIOSH's budget and take away from its capabilities through reorganization.

I work every day with my employer to protect workers and workplaces from occupational safety and health risks. Both my employer and I need an effective NIOSH to provide meaningful safety and health research and training for future safety and health professionals to help us address rapidly changing workplace risks that threaten workers and my employer's global competitiveness. Letting John Howard go is a mistake that will not help us meet these challenges. I urge you to make sure he is reappointed as Director of NIOSH.

Respectfully,

Your Name
Your City, State

I also highly suggest that you share your concerns with your representatives in Congress. Information on reaching your Senate and House of Representative members is available through the links below.

Thank you for joining our signficant voices together.

Sincerely,

Michael W. Thompson, CSP
ASSE President

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