The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“OSHA RULES GOVERNING LOGGING OPERATIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S1415-S1416 on Jan. 24, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
OSHA RULES GOVERNING LOGGING OPERATIONS
Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, Washington bureaucrats are at it again. On February 9, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, otherwise known as OSHA, will impose rules governing logging operations out in the woods. Now, logging can be hazardous and there are certain rules that do make sense and should be enforced to ensure that folks are not subjected to unnecessary risks. But people who work in the woods are not dummies. They know they do dangerous work, and they know which rules make sense and which ones do not.
Unfortunately, the OSHA folks back here in Washington, DC, got carried away with their rulemaking because they issued a host of logging regulations that, I must tell you, simply defy common sense and they hurt the people who are trying to make a living rather than helping them. You can tell whoever wrote them works at a desk, probably in Washington, DC, and not with a chain saw.
For example, these new regulations require loggers to wear foot protection that prevents penetration by chain saws. That means steel-
toed kevlar boots. While requiring loggers to wear these boots sounds like a good, sensible rule, the fact is, it is not. As Montana loggers will tell you, steel-toed boots are impractical when it comes to steep terrain--and I can tell you, we have a lot of that--and in cold weather. We have some of that, too. Since they reduce comfort and significantly reduce flexibility, they make it easier to slip and to fall, not a good thing when you are carrying a chain saw. Uncomfortable and inflexible boots might make the job more dangerous, not less dangerous. We have to, I think, let the logger make that call.
Furthermore, chain-saw resistant work boots would have to be made out of exotic material like kevlar. These boots are not readily available from manufacturers. It seems impractical to me then to ask loggers to take a vacation while their new up-to-standard boots are on back order.
Another provision requires loggers to wear both eyeglasses and face protection. Eye protection does make common sense. It is a regulation that loggers have strictly followed for many years. The additional requirement of face shields, however, will only cut down on loggers' peripheral vision; here, again, a regulation that creates more of a hazard than it alleviates.
A third provision requires health care providers to review and approve logger first aid kits on a yearly basis; a doctor's appointment for a first aid kit. OSHA has to be kidding. I would think that OSHA could perhaps list the required contents for an aid kit and just leave it at that.
These, Madam President, are but three examples that demonstrate just how bad these regulations are going. They are tough and violators are subjected to stiff penalties. They also make no sense and will needlessly put hardworking men and women out of business come February 9 when they go into effect.
Sometimes it seems to me the Feds have it in for people who work in the woods, or just like to go camping. For example, last year, I persuaded the Forest Service to withdraw a set of regulations that told folks what they could and could not do in the woods. These were the rules that outlawed people from carrying firearms, picking up rocks, or shouting out loud in our national forests.
The Forest Service finally came to their senses and withdrew those regulations, and I hope that the Department of Labor will do the same here. I have asked the Secretary of Labor to suspend implementation of these regulations for 180 days.
[[Page S1416]] Madam President, during this time, OSHA should go back to the drawing board and talk to the people with actual logging experience. These folks can help OSHA create rules that are specifically tailored to the region, compatible to the nature of the work and help, rather than hinder, the logger.
I urge my colleagues to support my call for a halt to the implementation of these regulations as they are currently written.
Mr. LEAHY addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I applaud the Senator from Montana, and I hope that OSHA will pay attention to his letter. I own a small tree farm in Vermont. In fact, I live on it. We harvest mixed types of trees, mostly hard wood, some soft woods, doing probably 25 to 35 acres a year. The man who does the harvesting was named a couple years in a row as the best forester in Vermont.
He did not get that way by taking unnecessary risks. He has a very good logging business, hires a number of people, logs primarily in the wintertime when the ground is frozen, and moves things out.
Frankly, I would trust him to make some of these judgments, some of the things the Senator is describing. They make no sense in our State, either.
I remember one day walking down the road last winter. It was between 30 and 35 degrees below zero. He was standing with his truck. He really loved it because the roads were frozen and he could move.
And he had the roads to himself. But I can see him trying to walk with the type of boots the Senator is talking about. I can see him just breathing into any kind of face mask the Senator is talking about, where it is 30 to 35 degrees below zero. You are going to have nothing but sheer ice on the inside of that face mask. I wonder what kind of safety factor that is going to be.
So, Madam President, I would ask the distinguished senior Senator from Montana, one who has paid more attention to these issues than just about anybody I know in this body, if he would share with me the response to his letter because I think he raises a valid point.
Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I very much would like to and will share the response I get.
I am curious whether they are going to apply windshield wipers on the face shield.
Mr. LEAHY. Defrosters.
Mr. BAUCUS. Defrosters. I wonder whether, if they are battery powered, the logger will have to carry a battery pack for the windshield wiper on the face mask or the defroster on the face mask because, as the Senator said, and as you know, Madam President, in your State of Maine--our States are northern States--snow falls in the winter. It gets a little cold when we are out in the woods. They could easily fog up. So I am not sure whether the OSHA people are thinking only about dead of summer logging or whether they are also thinking about logging operations the time of the year when it sometimes gets a little cooler.
But I thank the Senator for his observations and I will give him a copy of the letter I get.
____________________
