ASSE Government Affairs Committee’s Annual Capitol Hill Visits
Posted in Federal Communications on Mon, May 9, 2011
ASSE’s Government Affairs Committee met in Washington DC May 1-3 in conjunction with NAOSH Week for a meeting and to conduct its annual Capitol Hill Visits. Below is a schedule of visits they made and the issues discussed.
GAC Members at OSHA
[l to r] Bill Propes (TX), Mike Neason (KY), CoPA VP Tom Cecich (NC), Ron Sokol (TX), Chair Jim Thornton (VA), and Ernie Harper (ID)
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Discussion |
| 8:30 – NIOSH
Frank Hearl, Chief of Staff; John Piacentino, MD, Associate Director for Science |
- ASSE support for Ag, Forestry, Fishing NORA program and ERCs in Administration’s proposed FY 12 budget
- Cooperation on risk assessment, ASSE’s evolving Risk Assessment Task Force under CoPA
- Cooperation on ASSE’s CoPA effort to ensure recognition of safety in corporate sustainability efforts
- Appreciation for NIOSH’s commitment to economic studies supporting value of safety
- ASSE involvement in NIOSH NORA Symposium July 12-13 in Cincinnati (http://www.team-psa.com/NORA2011/callforabstract.asp); NIOSH PtD Prevention through Design (PtD) Workshop August 22-24 in Washington, DC (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ptd/#workshop); and Eliminating Health and Safety Disparities at Work, September 14-15 in Chicago (http://www.aoecdata.org/conferences/healthdisparities/index.html)
- Update on NIOSH efforts in nanotechnology
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| 9:45 – House Education and the Workforce lead majority (Republican) staff responsible for occupational safety and health issues |
- ASSE draft OSH reform bill
- ASSE support for legislation codifying VPP
- Prospects of Byrd mine safety reform bill
- Prospects of OSHA I2P2 standard setting
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| 10:30 – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions lead minority (Republican) staff responsible for occupational safety and health issues |
- ASSE draft OSH reform bill
- ASSE support for legislation by Chairman Enzi codifying VPP in the Senate
- Prospects of Byrd mine safety reform bill
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| 12:30 – House Education and the Workforce lead minority (Democrat) staff responsible for occupational safety and health issues |
- ASSE draft OSH reform bill
- Combustible dust – efforts to address the issue at OSHA and in Congress
- ASSE support for legislation codifying VPP
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| 1:30 – CSB
Board Members Mark Griffon and John Bresland; Daniel Horowitz, Managing Director |
- ASSE support for nomination of member Jerry Jones to CSB Board and possible interest of other members
- ASSE support for CSB’s FY 12 budget request
- ASSE draft OSH reform bill
- Overview of CSB investigations, including Deepwater Horizon
- Linking ASSE chapter member resources with CSB investigators – specifically with Hawaii members in Honolulu fireworks explosion investigation
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| 1:30 – Office of Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) |
- ASSE support for VPP codification bill cosponsored by Senator Landrieu
- ASSE draft OSH reform bill
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| 3:00 – OSHA
Jordan Barab and Rich Fairfax, Deputy Assistant Secretaries; Deborah Berkowitz, Chief of Staff |
- I2P2 and next steps – SBRFA process to begin in June
- ASSE draft OSH reform bill
- Administration FY ’12 budget proposal for OSHA, including increased resources for whistleblower program
- Combustible dust issue and May 13 expert panel
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