AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF SAFETY ENGINEERS
1800 East Oakton Street
Des Plaines, Illinois 60018-2187
847.699.2929
FAX 847.296.3769
www.asse.org
October 7, 2005
The Honorable Michael B. Enzi
Chairman
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
United States Senate
SD-428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6300
RE: Support for "Katrina Worker Safety
and Filing Flexibility Act of 2005"
Dear Senators Enzi and Kennedy:
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), on behalf of its
30,000 member safety, health and environmental (SH+E)
professionals, applaud you for your cooperative leadership in
sponsoring SB 1771, the "Katrina Worker Safety and Filing Flexibility
Act of 2005."
ASSE has numerous members who work and live in the area affected
by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They have reported to us the need for
the kind leadership from the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) that SB 1771 intends to support and
encourage. Those members will be pleased to know that your
leadership intends to address what appeared to be a lack of attention
from the federal government on worker safety and health in the
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immediate response to the Katrina disaster. That cannot be left to happen
again.
As SB 1771 indicates, the federal government can offer a wealth of resources
to emergency response, recovery and reconstruction workers heading into the
wake of a disaster like Katrina. Agencies like the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health, the Chemical Safety and Hazards
Investigation Board, the Environmental Protection Agency and others have
information and expert staff to help in a variety of ways. But it is OSHA that
must be the coordinating leader of any federal efforts so that resources can be
focused to ensure that workers receive information, training and personal
protection equipment that will help them avoid injuries, illnesses and even
death while working in disaster areas.
ASSE particularly supports provisions to authorize necessary appropriations
to help OSHA pay for communications, additional personnel, enforcement,
and additional training and other resources for workers affected by Katrina.
As you well know, OSHA funding has grown little in recent years. Any
amounts OSHA puts towards disaster relief will come from resources already
needed to help save lives and prevent injuries and illnesses in our nation's
workplaces. OSHA's leadership in the wake of Katrina should not come at the
expense of protecting workers across the nation.
While ASSE fully supports SB 1771, we respectfully ask that several other
measures be considered by you and the Committee on Health, Educational
Labor and Pensions for inclusion as this legislation goes forward:
Mandated safety and health training – ASSE is deeply concerned that SB
1771 does not go far enough in ensuring that emergency response, recovery
and reconstruction workers returning to affected areas are given even the most
basic training to avoid safety, health and environmental risks. We would urge
that you go one step further in your legislation to require OSHA to lead an
effort to develop easily accessible but comprehensive web-based training tools
that OSHA would require all emergency response workers to review before
disasters hit. Further, following a disaster, every contractor going into a
disaster area should be required to provide similar training to all their workers
in whatever language is needed for that training to be effective.
Centralized OSHA staging areas – ASSE would also support an idea that
we understand OSHA was considering in the early days following Katrina,
that OSHA would establish staging areas throughout the disaster area that
would allow centralization of safety and health training, PPE distribution and
other resources. Such sites could provide a platform for bringing in personnel
and resources from other federal agencies. Staging areas would also provide a
simple structure to allow volunteers to assist OSHA in training and equipping
workers as they head into the disaster areas.
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Support for volunteer SH+E professionals – Katrina and Rita pose
challenges in protecting workers that are most likely beyond the resource
capabilities of OSHA. Within our membership are capable and willing
professionals who can provide a wealth of expertise and experience in
addressing every possible safety, health and environmental risk workers in
disaster areas face. In whatever way possible, your efforts should include
support for such volunteer efforts to help extend the resources of OSHA.
Senators Landriu and Vetter of Louisiana have include several provisions in
their Katrina relief bill, SB 1765, that we hope you will consider including in
SB 1771:
SEC. 715. INCREASE IN STANDARD MILEAGE RATE FOR
CHARITABLE USE OF PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE.
Notwithstanding section 170(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
for purposes of computing the deduction under section 170 of such
Code for use of a vehicle described in subsection (f)(12)(E)(i) for
provision of relief related to Hurricane Katrina during the period
beginning on August 29, 2005, and ending before January 1, 2007, the
standard mileage rate shall be 70 percent of the standard mileage rate
in effect under section 162(a) of such Code at the time of such use.
Any increase under this section shall be rounded to the next highest
cent.
SEC. 716. MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENTS TO CHARITABLE
VOLUNTEERS EXCLUDED FROM GROSS INCOME.
(a) In General- Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 is amended by
inserting after section 139A the following new section:
`SEC. 139B. MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENTS TO
CHARITABLE VOLUNTEERS.
`(a) In General- Gross income of an individual does not include
amounts received, from an organization described in section 170(c), as
reimbursement of operating expenses with respect to use of a
passenger automobile for the benefit of such organization. The
preceding sentence shall apply only to the extent that the expenses
which are reimbursed would be deductible under this chapter if section
274(d) were applied-`(1) by using the standard business mileage rate established under such
section, and
`(2) as if the individual were an employee of an organization not
described in section 170(c).
`(b) Application to Volunteer Services Only- Subsection (a) shall not
apply with respect to any expenses relating to the performance of
services for compensation.
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`(c) No Double Benefit- A taxpayer may not claim a deduction or
credit under any other provision of this title with respect to the
expenses under subsection (a).
`(d) Exemption From Reporting Requirements- Section 6041 shall not
apply with respect to reimbursements excluded from income under
subsection (a).
`(e) Termination- This section shall not apply to use of a passenger
automobile after December 31, 2006.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for part III of
subchapter B of chapter 1 is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 139A the following new item:
`Sec. 139B Mileage reimbursements to charitable volunteers'.
(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply
to the use of a passenger automobile after the date of the enactment of
this Act, in taxable years ending after such date.
OSHA Coverage for State and Municipal Workers
Representative Phil English has introduced a bill, HR 3473, to provide federal
occupational safety and health coverage to all government employees,
included below. ASSE has long called for a correction to the failure of
Occupational Safety and Health Act to provide coverage to federal employees
and to those state and municipal employees who happened to be employed in
states without state occupational safety and health plans.
The seriousness of this lapse has become critical in the wake of Katrina and
Rita as these dedicated civil servants have risked their lives in rescue and
recovery efforts. These workers deserve the most basic occupational safety
and health protections given private sector workers who may even be working
at their side. This nation can do better, and we urge you to include the
following language of HR 3473 in your legislation as it moves forward.
Section 3(5) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is
amended by striking `but does not include' and all that follows
through `State' and inserting `including the United States
government, any government of a State or political subdivision of a
State, or any interstate governmental agency.'
Ensuring Annex Activation
Finally, ASSE also urges you and the Committee to work towards ensuring
that, in the future, the federal government does not again delay in activating
the Worker Health and Safety Annex plan under the National Response Plan.
Much was made of the Annex when its creation was first announced. It has
been disappointing that OSHA, despite its best efforts, could not find the
cooperation it needed to begin its work in the affected region under the
Annex. Responders and other workers going into any disaster should have the
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best possible opportunity to receive occupational safety and health resources
from OSHA and other federal agencies.
Conclusion
ASSE and its members stand ready to assist you and the Committee as
consideration is given on how best to ensure occupational safety and health
issues are addressed in this nation's response to disasters. We learned much
from the September 11 terrorist acts about the risks that emergency responder
and recovery workers face following a disaster. That experience should have
better prepared this nation to respond to the occupational safety and health
risks forced on workers by Katrina. If ASSE can provide any assistance,
please contact Dave Heidorn, Manager of Government Affairs and Policy, at
847/768-3406 or dheidorn@asse.org.
Again, thank you for your leadership on this most important issue of concern
to ASSE's members.
Sincerely,
Jack H. Dobson, Jr., CSP
President
cc: Senator Johnny Isakson
Chairman
Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
Senator Patty Murray
Ranking Minority Member
Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
Senator Mary L. Landrieu
Senator David Vitter
Representative Phil English