OSHA Irate
Over House Ergonomics Vote
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Officials at the U.S. Department
of Labor are irate that Congress is again
stepping in to control the agency's rush to adopt
national ergonomic workplace rules. The agency
isn't commenting publicly on last week's vote by
the House Appropriations Committee to bar the
agency from spending a nickel to implement
ergonomics rules during the coming fiscal year.
However, insiders are saying that the agency is
attempting to persuade the White House to get
into the fray.
The House panel voted 32-22, largely along party
lines, to adopt an amendment to the Labor
appropriations bill offered by Cong. Anne
Northrup of Kentucky that says: "None of the
funds made available in this act my be used by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
to promulgate, issue, implement, administer, or
enforce any proposed, temporary, or final
standard on ergonomic protection."
The committee then approved funding for OSHA at
$381 million, $44 million below the president's
request. The spending measure is part of the
larger appropriations bill for the Labor, Health
and Education departments totaling $327 billion.
Some Democrats sympathetic to OSHA's cause said
they will challenge the provision on the House
floor later this month.
OSHA, under pressure from organized labor, issued
a 1,000-page proposed rule on ergonomic
(repetitive motion) disorders last November. The
rule, which applies to all manufacturers and up
to 5.5 million workplaces nationwide, could cost
U.S. firms between $8 billion and $18 billion.
Key provisions would require employers to set up
a comprehensive ergonomics program if just one
musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is
reported; and require manufacturers to compensate
employees with MSDs 90 percent of pay and 100
percent of benefits during their absence from
work.
Nationally, MSDs are down 17 percent over three
years. Opponents argue that the federal
government should wait until an $890,000
scientific study of the causes of MSDs is
available later this year. In August 1999, the
House narrowly approved legislation requiring
OSHA to wait for the scientific study results.
The tactic of denying funding for ergonomics
regulations has been used in North Carolina,
where the General Assembly last year inserted a
provision in the state budget bill stipulating
that the state Department of Labor couldn't use
any funds to implement an ergonomics regulation. Read more about the ergonomics
issue.
Crime-Fighting Grants: Cong. Bob
Etheridge(D-2nd) announced $1.6 million in grants
for crime-prevention initiatives in seven
counties in his Triangle district. The money was
approved by Congress last year and provided to
the Governor's Crime Commission by federal
agencies, including the Justice Department and
the Department of Education. The grants are:
Harnett County: 11th Judicial District, drug
diversion and education, $88,835.25; City of
Dunn, Connect 2000, $20,000; Johnston County:
Harbor Inc., Victim's Services, $129,208.50;
Johnston County Schools, Juvenile Partnership
Project, $218,514.50; Lee County: Haven Inc. Lee
County, Victim's Services, $133,371; Lee Co.
Sheriff's Dept., Communications, $29,269.50; Nash
County: Sheriff's Dept., Drug Control,
$39,999.74; Sampson County: U Care Inc., Victim's
Services, $178,789.76; Clinton Police Dept.,
Communications, $23,999.90; Wake County: Wake
County Schools, Helping Hands Project,
$99,999.99; N.C. Coalition Against Sexual
Assault, Victim's Services, $113,437.01; Wake
Teen Medical Services, Juvenile Delinquency
Prevention, $83,109.75; Family Violence
Prevention Center, Victim's Services, $59,540.86;
Rolesville Police Dept., Communications,
$10,833.75; Wendell Police Dept., Communications,
$11,301; Wilson County: County Youth Outreach,
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention, $100,000; Wesley
Shelter, Victim's Services, $191,458.01; Wilson
Police Dept., Communications, $72,008.25.
Meanwhile, Jones County will receive $1.4 million
from FEMA to buy 11 homes destroyed last year by
flooding from Hurricane Floyd, Sen. John Edwards
(D-N.C.).said. Under the voluntary buyout
program, the homes will be demolished and the
land, which is in 100-year flood plains, will
become publicly owned open space. The money is
part of an emergency aid package approved by
Congress last year. FEMA will pay 75 percent of
the cost and the state is responsible for the
rest.
Reports Show Economy Slowing:
Two economic reports issued on Wednesday confirm
that the economy's rate of growth is slowing
down. The Conference Board reported that the
index of leading economic indicators declined by
0.1 percent in April, and the Department of
Commerce said that housing sales declined by 5.8
percent. "Growth is slowing like a car in a
school zone: Its engine is still revved up, but
the vehicle itself is traveling at a lower
speed," the NAM said. "These numbers
confirm the emergence of a slowdown, especially
in the wake of last week's data showing a decline
in orders and slower consumer spending. The
leading indicators demonstrate that the slowdown
is broad-based. There was a decrease in new
orders for consumer goods, pointing to a falling
off in demand, while building permits declined,
indicating that higher interest rates are slowing
construction. The fall in home sales shows that
there will be fewer home purchases and less
construction in the face of higher mortgage
rates. In the face of this new evidence, nobody
can seriously argue that the rate increases have
failed to slow the economy. There is now
virtually no danger that the economy will
overheat," the NAM concluded.
House Actions: The House Ways
and Means Committee on May 25 approved a bill,
H.R. 8, to phase-out the federal estate and gift
tax over the next 10 years. Congress passes a
similar bill last year but it was vetoed by
President Clinton. . . .The House voted 420-2 on
May 25 in support of a measure to abolish the 3
percent telephone excise tax, which was first
imposed in 1898. The excise tax currently is
imposed on both home and business phone bills for
local and long-distance service. It was
originally enacted as a temporary tax, but has
been raised, lowered and extended over the past
102 years. Repeal of the excise tax was one of
the majority recommendations submitted to
Congress last month by the Advisory Commission on
Electronic Commerce (ACEC).
Census Count Improving: Census
Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt reported Thursday
that in every region of the country 90 percent or
more of U.S. housing units have been accounted
for -- meaning that a census form has been
received for a unit or it has been identified as
vacant. Some 66 percent of households mailed in
their questionnaires, and field efforts to obtain
information from households that did not respond
are about 70 percent complete.
E-tail Sales Soaring: The data
for retail e-commerce sales in the first quarter
of this year show that e-retail or e-tail
continues to strengthen and grow, the U.S.
Commerce Department said Thursday in a report.
E-tail sales increased from $5.198 billion in the
fourth quarter of 1999 to $5.260 billion in the
first quarter of this year, an increase of 1.2
percent. Over the same period, total retail sales
including e-tail declined 8.9 percent, from
$821.35 billion in the fourth quarter of last
year to $747.84 billion in the first quarter of
this year. The fall in retail sales from the
fourth to the first quarters is normal,
reflecting the end of holiday buying. The
continued growth of e-tail commerce indicates
that on-line retail purchasing is not merely or
primarily an end-of-year holiday phenomenon. The
relative strength of online retail commerce,
compared to all retail sales, was evident across
industry categories, including computers, autos,
books, sporting goods and catalogue sellers.
E-tail commerce represents a very small share of
all retail sales, 0.70 percent in the first
quarter. However, this compares to 0.63 percent
in the fourth quarter of 1999. Therefore,
e-tail's share of all retail sales grew 10
percent from the fourth quarter to the first
quarter.
Corporate Support for Wetlands:
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary William M.
Daley on Thursday inaugurated the National
Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, a new
first-of-its-kind public-private program
combining corporate contributions with federal
and state funds to restore the nation's
environmentally valuable wetlands and other
aquatic habitats. The Gillette Company and the
National Association of Manufacturers, founding
partners of the program, worked with the federal
office of Coastal America to create the National
Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership. The
partnership expands a program initiated in
Massachusetts last year by Gillette, the
Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental
Affairs and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. The program was extended to all New
England states earlier this year. Secretary Daley
said, "Recognizing the value of this unique
public-private partnership, Gillette and the
National Association of Manufacturers have agreed
to take the program nationwide working through
the Coastal America Partnership. These efforts
epitomize the benefits that can be accomplished
through public-private partnerships that bring
together our collective resources to meet a
common goal." The Massachusetts Partnership
now has 17 corporate partners who have
contributed a total of $1 million in funds and
in-kind services. One restoration project is
already underway in Massachusetts, and several
others are in the planning stage.
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