7/29/2019 Letter to Sen. Tom Harkin from the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Society of Safety Engin

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November26,2012

TheHonorableTomHarkin

Chairman

SenateLaborHHSEducationAppropriationsSubcommittee

Washington,DC 20510

DearChairman

Harkin:

TheNationalSafetyCouncil,AmericanSocietyofSafetyEngineers,andAmericanIndustrial

HygieneAssociationcommendyouforyourstrongsupportfortheOccupationalSafetyand

HealthAdministration(OSHA)andNationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth

(NIOSH). Thankyouforincludingstablefundinglevelsof$565.5millionforOSHAand$292.6

millionforNIOSHintheSenateAppropriationsCommitteeapprovedFY2013LaborHHS

EducationAppropriationsbill.

AsyouconferwiththeHouse,weurgeyoutocontinuetochampionthesafetyandhealthof

Americas

workers

by

adopting

the

Senate

funding

levels

and

preventing

proposed

House

policy

ridersthatwouldpreventOSHAandNIOSHfromfullyfulfillingtheirlifesavingmissions.We

especiallyrequestthatyoupreventtheeliminationoffundingforNIOSHsAgriculture,Forestry

andFishing(AgFF)sectorprogramandEducationandResearchCenters(ERC),bothofwhich

playanimportantroleinpreventingworkplaceinjuriesanddeaths.

TheHouseFY13LaborHHSEducationAppropriationsbillfundsOSHAatareducedlevelof

$560million,andcontainsseveraltroublingpolicyriders,whichwould:

PreventOSHAfrompromulgatingaruleoninjuryandillnesspreventionprograms PreventOSHAfromenforcingpartsofanagencystandardongrainhandlingsafetyin

silos

PreventenforcementofanewOSHAresidentialconstructionfallprotectiondirective TerminatetheSusanHarwoodTrainingGrantProgram

NIOSHprovidesmanyimportantprograms,amongwhicharetheAgriculture,Forestryand

FishingsectorprogramandEducationandResearchCenters.TheAgriculture,Forestryand

Fishingindustrieshavethehighestfatalityratesofanyindustry,with580deathsin2010,an

7/29/2019 Letter to Sen. Tom Harkin from the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Society of Safety Engin

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increaseof6%from2009.TherateoffatalinjuryinAgFFis37%higherthanthenextclosest

industry,with26.9deathsper100,000workers.DirectedbyCongress,NIOSHestablished

CentersforAgriculturalDiseaseandInjuryResearch,EducationandPreventionin1990in

responsetoevidencethatagriculturalworkersweresufferinghigherratesofinjuryandillness

thanotherU.S.workers.Today,theinitiativeincludessevenregionalcenters,andonenational

centerto

address

childrens

farm

safety.

These

centers

have

conducted

research

leading

to

evidencebasedstandardsthatsavelives.

NIOSHsupportseducationandresearchinoccupationalhealththroughacademicdegree

programsandresearchopportunities,primarilythrough17universitybasedEducationand

ResearchCenters,includingtheHeartlandCenterforOccupationalHealthandSafetyinIowa

City,IA.Withanagingoccupationalsafetyandhealthworkforce,ERCsareessentialtotraining

thenextgenerationofprofessionals.TheCentersestablishacademic,laborandindustry

researchpartnershipstoachievethesegoals.Currently,ERCsareresponsibleforalmosthalfof

postbaccalaureategraduatesenteringoccupationalhealthandsafetyfields.

PleasecontinuetochampionthesafetyandhealthofAmericanworkersbydoingeverythingin

yourpowertomaintainstablefundinglevelsforOSHAandNIOSH,preventharmfulpolicy

riders,andensurethecontinuationoftheAgFFandERCprogramsinconferenceontheFY2013

LaborHHSEducationAppropriationsbill. Thankyouforyourcontinuedsupport.

Sincerely,

JanetFroetscher RichardPollock

President&CEO President

NationalSafetyCouncil AmericanSocietyofSafetyEngineers

AllanFleeger

President

AmericanIndustrialHygieneAssociation