diff --git "a/data/CHRG-117/CHRG-117hhrg43869.txt" "b/data/CHRG-117/CHRG-117hhrg43869.txt"
new file mode 100644--- /dev/null
+++ "b/data/CHRG-117/CHRG-117hhrg43869.txt"
@@ -0,0 +1,2417 @@
+
+ - CLEARING THE AIR: SCIENCE-BASED STRATEGIES TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM COVID-19 INFECTIONS
+
+[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
+[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
+
+
+ CLEARING THE AIR: SCIENCE-BASED STRATEGIES
+ TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM
+ COVID 19 INFECTIONS
+
+=======================================================================
+
+ HEARING
+
+ BEFORE THE
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON
+ WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS
+
+ OF THE
+
+ COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
+ U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
+
+ ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
+
+ FIRST SESSION
+
+ __________
+
+ HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MARCH 11, 2021
+
+ __________
+
+ Serial No. 117-1
+
+ __________
+
+ Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor
+
+[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ Available via: edlabor.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov
+
+ __________
+
+
+ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
+43-839 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+ COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
+
+ ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia, Chairman
+
+RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina,
+JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut Ranking Member
+GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, JOE WILSON, South Carolina
+ Northern Mariana Islands GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
+FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida TIM WALBERG, Michigan
+SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
+MARK TAKANO, California ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
+ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
+MARK De SAULNIER, California JIM BANKS, Indiana
+DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey JAMES COMER, Kentucky
+PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
+JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
+SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
+LUCY Mc BATH, Georgia MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
+JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut BURGESS OWENS, Utah
+ANDY LEVIN, Michigan BOB GOOD, Virginia
+ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota LISA C. Mc CLAIN, Michigan
+HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
+TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
+MONDAIRE JONES, New York VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
+KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
+FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
+JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York, Vice-Chair MICHELLE STEEL, California
+MARK POCAN, Wisconsin Vacancy
+JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas Vacancy
+MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
+JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky
+ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
+KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
+
+ Veronique Pluviose, Staff Director
+ Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director
+ ------
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS
+
+ ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina, Chairwoman
+
+
+MARK TAKANO, California FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania,
+DONALD NORCROSS,New Jersey Ranking Member
+PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
+ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
+HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan BURGESS OWENS, Utah
+MONDAIRE JONES, New York BOB GOOD, Virginia
+JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
+ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia MICHELLE STEEL, California
+ VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina (ex
+ officio)
+
+ C O N T E N T S
+
+ ----------
+ Page
+
+Hearing held on March 11, 2021................................... 1
+
+Statement of Members:
+ Adams, Hon. Alma S., Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Workforce
+ Protections................................................ 1
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 5
+ Keller, Hon. Fred, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Workforce
+ Protections................................................ 6
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 8
+
+Statement of Witnesses:
+ Marr, Linsey Ph.D., Professor of Civil and Environmental
+ Engineering, Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State
+ University, Blacksburg, VA................................. 10
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 12
+ Michaels, David, Ph.D., Professor of Occupational and
+ Environmental Medicine, The George Washington University,
+ Former Assistant
+ Secretary of OSHA, Washington, DC.......................... 76
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 78
+ Muhindura, Pascaline, RN, COVID Progressive Care Unit,
+ Research
+ Medical Center, on behalf of National Nurses United, Kansas
+ City, MO................................................... 24
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 26
+ Rath, Manesh, Partner, Keller and Heckman LLP, Washington, DC 68
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 70
+
+Additional Submissions:
+ Chairwoman Adams:
+ Letter dated March 1, 2021............................... 124
+ Mr. Keller:
+ Prepared statement from American Hospital Association.... 128
+ Prepared statement from Construction Industry Safety
+ Coalition.............................................. 131
+ Prepared statement from National Retail Federation....... 142
+ Questions submitted for the record by:
+ Chairwoman Adams
+
+
+
+
+ Omar, Hon. Ilhan, a Representative in Congress from the
+ State of
+ Minnesota
+
+
+
+ Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
+ Dr. Marr................................................. 147
+ Ms. Muhindura............................................ 150
+ Dr. Michaels............................................. 156
+
+
+ CLEARING THE AIR: SCIENCE-BASED
+ STRATEGIES TO PROTECT WORKERS
+ FROM COVID-19 INFECTIONS
+
+ ----------
+
+
+ Thursday, March 11, 2021
+
+ House of Representatives,
+ Subcommittee on Workforce Protections,
+ Committee on Education and Labor,
+ Washington, DC.
+ The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:47 a.m.,
+via Zoom, Hon. Alma S. Adams (Chairwoman of the subcommittee)
+presiding.
+ Present: Representatives Adams, Takano, Norcross, Jaypal,
+Omar, Stevens, Jones, Yarmuth, Scott, Foxx, Stefanik, Keller,
+Miller-Meeks, Good, Cawthorn, Steel.
+ Staff present: Tylease Alli, Chief Clerk; Jordan Barab,
+Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Ilana Brunner, General Counsel;
+Sheila Havenner, Director of Information Technology; Eli
+Hovland, Policy Associate; Ariel Jona, Policy Associate; Andre
+Lindsay, Policy Associate; Richard Miller, Director of Labor
+Policy; Max Moore, Staff Assistant; Mariah Mowbray, Clerk/
+Special Assistant to the Staff Director; Kayla Pennebecker,
+Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Staff Director; Theresa
+Thompson, Professional Staff; Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff
+Director; Gabriel Bisson, Minority Staff Assistant; Courtney
+Butcher, Minority Director of Member Services and Coalitions;
+Rob Green, Minority Director of Workforce Policy; Georgie
+Littlefair, Minority Legislative Assistant; John Martin,
+Minority Workforce Policy Counsel; Hannah Matesic, Minority
+Director of Operations; Audra McGeorge, Minority Communications
+Director; Carlton Norwood, Minority Press Secretary.
+ Ms. Adams. The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will
+come to order. Welcome everyone. I note that a quorum is
+present. The subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony
+on, ``Clearing the Air: Science-Based Strategies to Protect
+Workers from COVID-19 Infections.''
+ I note for the subcommittee that Mr. Courtney of
+Connecticut is permitted to participate in today's hearing with
+the understanding that his questions will come only after all
+Members of the subcommittee on both sides of the aisle were
+present, and have had an opportunity to question the witnesses.
+ This is an entirely remote hearing. All microphones will be
+kept muted as a general rule to avoid unnecessary background
+noise. Members and witnesses will be responsible for unmuting
+themselves when they are recognized to speak, or when they wish
+to seek recognition.
+ I also ask that Members please identify themselves before
+they speak. Members should keep their cameras on while in the
+proceeding. Members shall be considered present in the
+proceeding when they are visible on camera, and they shall be
+considered not present when they are not visible on camera.
+ The only exception to this is if they are experiencing
+technical difficulty and inform Committee Staff of such
+difficulty. If any Member experiences technical difficulties
+during the hearing, you should stay connected on the platform,
+make sure you are muted, and use your phone to immediately call
+the Committee's IT Director whose number was provided in
+advance. Should the Chair experience technical difficulty, or
+need to step away to vote on the floor, Mr. Scott of Virginia,
+as a Member of this subcommittee, or another Majority Member of
+the subcommittee if he's not available is hereby authorized to
+assume the gavel in the Chair's absence.
+ This is an entirely remote meeting. And as such the
+Committee's hearing room is officially closed. Members who
+choose to sit with their individual devices in the hearing room
+must wear headphones to avoid feedback, echoes and distortion
+resulting from more than one person on the software platform
+sitting in the same room.
+ Members are also expected to adhere to social distancing,
+and safe healthcare guidelines including the use of masks, hand
+sanitizer and wiping down their areas, both before and after
+their presence I the hearing room. In order to ensure that the
+Committee's five-minute rule is adhered to, staff will be
+keeping track of time using the Committee's field timer.
+ The field timer will appear on its own thumbnail picture
+and will be named 001_timer. There will be no one minute
+remaining warning. The field timer will sound its audio alarm
+when time is up. Members and witnesses are asked to wrap up
+promptly when their time has expired.
+ And while a roll call is not necessary to establish a
+quorum in official proceedings conducted remotely or with
+remote participation, the Committee has made it a practice
+whenever there is an official proceeding with remote
+participation for the clerk to call the roll to help make clear
+who is present at the start of the proceeding.
+ Members should say their name before announcing they are
+present. This helps the Clerk, and also helps those watching
+the platform and the livestream who may experience a few
+seconds delay.
+ At this time I ask the clerk to please call the roll.
+ The Clerk. Chairman Adams?
+ Ms. Adams. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Takano?
+ Mr. Takano. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Norcross?
+ Mr. Norcross. Present.
+ The Clerk. Ms. Jayapal?
+ Ms. Jayapal. Present.
+ The Clerk. Miss Omar?
+ Ms. Omar. Present.
+ The Clerk. Ms. Stevens?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Jones?
+ Mr. Jones. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Yarmuth?
+ Mr. Yarmuth. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Scott?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Keller?
+ Mr. Keller. Present.
+ The Clerk. Miss Stefanik sorry?
+ Ms. Stefanik. Present.
+ The Clerk. Ms. Miller-Meeks?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Owens?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Good?
+ Mr. Good. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Cawthorn?
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mrs. Steel?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Chairwoman Adams, that concludes the roll call.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you, thank you for that.
+ Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(c), opening Statements are
+limited to the Chair and the Ranking Member. This allows us to
+hear form our witnesses sooner and provides all Members with
+adequate time to ask their questions.
+ I'll recognize myself now for the purpose of making an
+opening Statement.
+ I want to welcome everyone to the first hearing of the Work
+Force Protection Subcommittee and the 117th Congress. Today we
+will discuss the imperative to protect worker's health and
+safety. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed one of the most
+significant threats to worker's health and safety in a century.
+ Across the country tens of thousands of workers have been
+infected by COVID-19 on the job, and many thousands have died.
+Meat packing workers, healthcare workers, transportation
+workers, correctional workers, and other frontline workers are
+all struggling with the severe physical and emotional trauma of
+the pandemic.
+ And while some of us have the luxury of working from home,
+these workers who are disproportionately low-income and people
+of color are risking their lives to keep our communities
+afloat. And one of our witnesses today, Pascaline Muhindura is
+a nurse at a hospital in Kansas City. Her coworker Celia Yap-
+Banago died of COVID-19 due to unsafe working conditions.
+ Miss Yap-Banago's family is watching today's hearing. I
+want to express our condolences for your loss and appreciation
+for the critical work for which Miss Yap-Banago gave her life.
+These tragic losses are even more heartbreaking considering
+that until recently the Occupational Safety and Health
+Administration, or OSHA, was missing in action, and
+opportunities to save lives were lost.
+ Under the Trump administration the Federal agency charged
+with protecting workers refused to issue new enforceable safety
+standards leaving workers vulnerable to workplace infections.
+The agency made it harder to keep track of workplace illnesses
+and industries. The political appointees at OSHA failed to
+leverage the agency's resources to adequately inspect
+worksites, and allow multi-billion dollar corporations to get
+off with meager penalties, while ignoring worker deaths that
+were likely linked to COVID-19.
+ And during a hearing last year OSHA's acting Assistant
+Secretary even refused to acknowledge that COVID-19 possesses
+or poses a grave danger for workers. OSHA's inspectors and
+staff have worked hard to keep workplaces safe given the
+resources they have. But the Trump administration's political
+leadership abandoned OSHA's mission, and left workers with
+little to no help from their government.
+ As a recent report from the Department of Labor's Inspector
+General found, worker complaints have skyrocketed during the
+pandemic, but OSHA inspections have fallen dramatically over
+the past year. The report also calls on OSHA to consider
+issuing an emergency temporary standard.
+ A recent Wall Street Journal investigation revealed a
+litany of major workplace COVID outbreaks, OSHA complaints, and
+insufficient responses from Federal OSHA or State OSHA plans.
+The main argument for inaction Federal OSHA had no COVID-
+related standards. The Journal identified more than 1,000
+worker deaths from COVID-19 that were likely linked to
+workplace transmission of the virus, but had never been
+investigated by OSHA.
+ Employers had failed to report many of these fatalities to
+OSHA. So today our witnesses would help us assess how the Biden
+administration can recover from these failures and keep workers
+safe and healthy moving forward. First OSHA must swiftly issue
+a strong emergency temporary standard, or ETS to protect
+workers against COVID-19 infections.
+ For more than a year Chairman Scott and I urged the
+previous administration to issue an ETS, but OSHA refused.
+Thankfully, the Biden administration has moved quickly to
+restore OSHA's purpose by directly OSHA to consider issuing an
+ETS. And I'm hopeful that we will see this ETS soon, but we
+must do far more to protect workers.
+ And as our witnesses will share, we must better protect
+workers from the airborne transmission of COVID-19. We now know
+the virus spreads not just through large droplets that quickly
+dissipate, but through microscopic particles that can travel
+long distances and for long periods.
+ This has major implications for protecting workers who are
+frequently in close contact with others. Yet the Centers for
+Disease Control and Prevention has not updated its workplace
+guidance to reflect this clear scientific evidence, which is
+essential to shape a strong OSHA standard.
+ We also need a plan to get vaccines to all of the essential
+workers who have risked their lives to keep our economy going.
+Americans across the country are thankfully starting to get
+vaccinated, but we still have no national strategy to ensure
+that in addition to emergency responders and healthcare
+workers, grocery store clerks, meat processing workers,
+teachers, transportation workers, corrections officers and
+others are not left behind.
+ We must also take clear steps to track workplace COVID-19
+infections. Shockingly, the Federal Government has no system
+for monitoring the number of workers who have gotten sick, or
+where they are employed. The previous administrative
+effectively gutted requirements for employers to report COVID-
+19 related worker hospitalizations.
+ And so we cannot hope to learn from the lessons of this
+pandemic without the data to understand how to protect workers
+in the future. Any discussion about protecting healthcare
+workers must also address the disproportionately high rates of
+violence that healthcare and social service workers face on the
+job.
+ Today we will discuss legislation introduced by
+Representative Courtney that requires OSHA to promptly issue a
+workplace violence prevention standard to protect healthcare
+and social service workers. Finally, in order for OSHA to
+identify and address the most dangerous workplaces, it must be
+able to collect accurate injury and illness data.
+ Today our witnesses will also discuss legislation
+introduced by Representative Takano that would allow OSHA to
+more effectively enforce its injury and illness recordkeeping
+requirements. National emergencies, such as this pandemic, are
+the exact reason why OSHA was first established, yet for far,
+far, too long OSHA's leadership was asleep at the wheel costing
+the lives of workers. Now we have the opportunity to restore
+OSHA's mission and protect workers health and safety at a time
+when they need it most.
+ Today's hearing is an important first step toward that
+goal. I'd now like to recognize the distinguished Ranking
+Member for the purpose of making an opening Statement.
+ [The statement of Chairwoman Adams follows:]
+
+Statement of Hon. Alma S. Adams, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Workforce
+ Protections
+
+ I want to welcome everyone to the first hearing of the Workforce
+Protections Subcommittee in the 117th Congress. Today, we will discuss
+the imperative to protect workers' health and safety.
+ The COVID-19 pandemic has posed one of the most significant threats
+to workers' health and safety in a century.
+ Across the country, tens of thousands of workers have been infected
+by COVID-19 on the job and many thousands have died. Meatpacking
+workers, health care workers, transportation workers, correctional
+workers, and other frontline workers are all struggling with the severe
+physical and emotional trauma of the pandemic. While some of us have
+the luxury of working from home, these workers-who are
+disproportionally low-income and people of color-are risking their
+lives to keep our communities afloat.
+ One of our witnesses today, Pascaline Muhindura, is a nurse at a
+hospital in Kansas City. Her coworker, Celia Yap-Banago, died of COVID-
+19 due to unsafe working conditions. Ms. Yap-Banago's family is
+watching today's hearing. I want to express our condolences for your
+loss and appreciation for the critical work for which Ms. Yap-Banago
+gave her life.
+ These tragic losses are even more heartbreaking considering that,
+until recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or
+OSHA, was missing in action.
+ Under the Trump Administration, the Federal agency charged with
+protecting workers refused to issue new enforceable safety standards,
+leaving workers vulnerable to workplace infections. The agency made it
+harder to keep track of workplace illnesses and injuries.
+ The political appointees at OSHA failed to leverage the agency's
+resources to adequately inspect worksites, and allowed multi-billion-
+dollar corporations to get off with meager penalties while ignoring
+worker deaths that were likely linked to COVID-19.
+ And, during a hearing last year, OSHA's Acting Assistant Secretary
+even refused to acknowledge that COVID-19 poses a ``grave danger'' for
+workers.
+ Now, OSHA's inspectors and staff have worked hard to keep
+workplaces safe given the resources they have. But the Trump
+Administration's political leadership abandoned OSHA's mission and left
+workers with little to no help from their government.
+ As a recent report from OSHA's Inspector General found, worker
+complaints have skyrocketed during the pandemic, but OSHA inspections
+have fallen dramatically over the past year. The report also called on
+OSHA to consider issuing an Emergency Temporary Standard.
+ A recent Wall St. Journal investigation revealed a litany of major
+workplace COVID outbreaks, OSHA complaints, and insufficient responses
+from Federal OSHA or State OSHA plans. The main argument for inaction:
+Federal OSHA had no COVID-related standards. The Journal identified
+more than 1,000 worker deaths from COVID-19 that were likely linked to
+workplace transmission of the virus but had never been investigated by
+OSHA. Employers had failed to report many of these fatalities to OSHA.
+ Today, our expert witnesses will help us assess how the Biden
+Administration can recover from these failures and keep workers safe
+and healthy moving forward.
+ First, OSHA must swiftly issue a strong Emergency Temporary
+Standard, or ETS, to protect workers against COVID-19 infections. For
+more than a year, Chairman Scott and I urged the previous
+Administration to issue an ETS, but OSHA refused. Thankfully, the Biden
+Administration has moved quickly to restore OSHA's purpose by directing
+OSHA to consider issuing an ETS. I am hopeful we will see this ETS
+soon, but we must do far more to fully protect workers.
+ As our witnesses will share, we must better protect workers from
+the airborne transmission of COVID-19. We now know the virus spreads
+not just through large droplets that quickly dissipate, but through
+microscopic particles that can travel long distances and for long
+periods. This has major implications for protecting workers who are
+frequently in close contact with others. Yet, the Centers for Disease
+Control and Prevention has not updated its workplace guidance to
+reflect this clear scientific evidence, which is also needed to shape a
+strong OSHA standard.
+ We also need a plan to get vaccines to all the essential workers
+who have risked their lives to keep our economy going. Americans across
+the country are thankfully starting to get vaccinated. But we still
+have no national strategy to ensure that-in addition to emergency
+responders and health care workers-grocery store clerks, meat
+processing workers, teachers, transportation workers, corrections
+officers and others are not left behind.
+ We must also take clear steps to keep track of workplace
+infections. Shockingly, the Federal Government has no system for
+monitoring the number of workers who have gotten sick or where they are
+employed. The previous administration even effectively gutted
+requirements for employers to report COVID-19-related worker
+hospitalizations. We cannot hope to learn from the lessons of this
+pandemic without the data to understand how to protect workers in the
+future.
+ Any discussion about protecting health care workers must also
+address the disproportionally high rates of violence that health care
+and social services workers face on the job. Today, we will discuss
+legislation introduced by Representative Courtney that requires OSHA to
+quickly issue a workplace violence prevention standard to protect
+health care and social service workers.
+ Finally, in order for OSHA to identify and address the most
+dangerous workplaces, it must be able to collect accurate injurity and
+illness data. Today, our witnesses will also discuss legislation,
+introduced by Representative Takano, that would allow OSHA to
+effectively enforce its injury and illness recordkeeping requirements.
+ National emergencies, such as this pandemic, are the exact reason
+why OSHA was first established. Yet, for far too long, OSHA's
+leadership was asleep at the wheel, costing the lives of workers. Now,
+we have the opportunity to restore OSHA's mission and protect workers'
+health and safety at a time when they need it most. Today's hearing is
+an important first step toward that goal.
+ I now yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. Keller, for his opening
+Statement.
+ ______
+
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you Madam Chair. I'm disappointed that
+today's hearing is being held in a completely virtual format.
+As I can show you in today's Washington Post, the people
+working in the House chamber show up every day and do their
+jobs, and I think we should be here in our committee's hearing
+room.
+ I'm currently in committee hearing room and it can
+comfortably accommodate the 16 Members of this subcommittee.
+This hearing should be in person, and we can participate and do
+this work safely. After all, the subject to today's hearing is
+science-based strategies to protect workers, and Members of the
+subcommittee should have the opportunity to set a positive
+example by conducting this hearing in person while adhering to
+the most current workplace safety guidelines.
+ Over the last year the pandemic has created unprecedented
+challenges for all Americans, especially workers and job
+creators. The top priority for employers throughout this crisis
+has been, and will continue to be preventing the spread of
+COVID-19 in the workplace to ensure the health and safety of
+workers and customers.
+ Thankfully, a year to the date after the World Health
+Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, America now is
+equipped with much greater and thorough scientific knowledge of
+the virus and innovative employers have developed effective
+procedures and policies to keep workplaces as safe as possible.
+ Over the past year business centers have worked around the
+clock to operate safely under the evolving State and local
+mandates. CDC and OSHA guidelines, and industry-recognized best
+practices to protect their workers. The vast majority of
+businesses, regardless of size and location have invested
+significant resources to implement comprehensive and effective
+safety precautions specific to their workplaces.
+ And now thanks to the successful efforts of Operation Warp
+Speed, essential workers have been prioritized for vaccination,
+and President Biden has Stated that the U.S. should have enough
+vaccine doses for every eligible adult in the United States by
+the end of May.
+ We are not out of the woods yet, but America is on the path
+to recovery, both in terms of health of our citizens and our
+economy. Under the Trump administration the Federal Government
+collaborated with businesses across the country, updating them
+as new information arose on the newest guidelines and
+procedures to keep workers and customers safe.
+ This dialog allowed businesses the flexibility to create
+health and safety plans that fit their specific workplace,
+creating an efficient path forward for businesses. My Democrat
+colleagues have said almost from day one of this pandemic that
+it is necessary for OSHA to issue an emergency temporary
+standard, or ETS. A rigid, one-size-fits-all regulation
+specific to COVID-19 that would apply to every workplace
+throughout the country.
+ Not one ETS has been issued since 1983 because of legal
+challenges and lack of due process for affected stakeholders.
+In 2021 an ETS would do far more harm than good to workers,
+employers and the American economy by denying businesses the
+opportunity to respond quickly to new scientific findings and
+industry-specific needs.
+ Not all workplaces are the same, yet democrats are eager to
+impose rigid and inflexible mandates on businesses. This
+inflexible lagging method to keep workers safe will only hinder
+our economy recovery, and make it more difficult for employers
+to ensure safety in their respective workplaces.
+ If OSHA had enacted an ETS a year ago as committee
+democrats demanded it, it would be woefully inadequate in
+protecting workers today. Issuing an ETS is not a science-based
+approach, and is instead yet another example of overbearing
+government policy that will do nothing but constrict employers
+from safely running their businesses.
+ Four States across the country have adopted State-wide
+emergency temporary COVID-19 regulations. In California we're
+already seeing its negative effects. Since issued in November,
+the regulations have conflicted at various points with CDC
+guidance for workplaces, causing massive confusion for
+employees and their employers.
+ Additionally, the California emergency rule places many new
+significant burdens on employers and job creators related to
+workplace testing, paid leave, and required reporting to public
+health authorities. This is no way to help an already suffering
+economy. More mandates from Washington, including an OSHA ETS
+would not only add burdens and regulations on employers that
+stifle creatively and ultimately hold them back.
+ Instead, the Federal Government should be focusing on
+ensuring adequate vaccine supply and distribution to vaccinate
+all workers and providing timely public health guidance to our
+employers as this Nation works toward economic prosperity. I'd
+like to thank all of our witnesses for joining us today and I
+look forward to hearing your testimony. Thank you and I yield
+back.
+ [The statement of Ranking Member Keller follows:]
+
+ Statement of Hon. Fred Keller, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
+ Workforce Protections
+
+ Thank you, Madam Chair. I am disappointed that today's hearing is
+being held in a completely virtual format. The Committee's hearing room
+that I am currently sitting in can comfortably accommodate the 16
+Members of the subcommittee.
+ This hearing should be in a hybrid format, so Members who want to
+participate in person can do so safely.
+ After all, the subject of today's hearing is ``Science-Based
+Strategies to Protect Workers'' and Members of this subcommittee should
+have the opportunity to set a positive example by conducting this
+hearing in person while adhering to the most current workplace safety
+guidelines.
+ Over the last year, the pandemic has created unprecedented
+challenges for all Americans, especially workers and job creators. The
+top priority for employers throughout this crisis has been, and will
+continue to be, preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace to
+ensure the health and safety of workers and customers.
+ Thankfully, a year to the date after the World Health Organization
+declared COVID-19 a pandemic, America is now equipped with much greater
+and thorough scientific knowledge of the virus, and innovative
+employers have developed effective procedures and policies to keep
+workplaces as safe as possible.
+ Over the past year, business owners have worked around the clock to
+operate safely under evolving State and local mandates, CDC and OSHA
+guidelines, and industry-recognized best practices to protect their
+workers. The vast majority of businesses, regardless of size and
+location, have invested significant resources to implement
+comprehensive and effective safety precautions specific to their
+workplaces.
+ And now, thanks to the successful efforts of Operation Warp Speed,
+essential workers have been prioritized for vaccination, and President
+Biden has Stated that the U.S. should have enough vaccine doses for
+every eligible adult in the United States by the end of May.
+ We are not out of the woods yet, but America is on the path to
+recovery, both in terms of the health of our citizens and our economy.
+ Under the Trump administration, the Federal Government collaborated
+with businesses across the country, updating them as new information
+arose on the newest guidelines and procedures to keep workers and
+customers safe. This dialog allowed businesses the flexibility to
+create health and safety plans that fit their specific workplace,
+creating an efficient path forward for businesses.
+ But my Democrat colleagues have said almost from day one of the
+pandemic that it is necessary for OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary
+Standard, or ETS-a rigid, one-size-fits-all regulation specific to
+COVID-19 that would apply to every workplace throughout the country.
+ Not one ETS has been issued since 1983 because of legal challenges
+and a lack of due process for affected stakeholders. In 2021, an ETS
+will do far more harm than good for workers, employers, and the
+American economy by denying businesses the opportunity to respond
+quickly to new scientific findings and industry-specific needs. Not all
+workplaces are the same, yet Democrats are eager to impose rigid and
+inflexible mandates on businesses. This inflexible, lagging method to
+keep workers 'safe' will only hinder our economic recovery and make it
+more difficult for employers to ensure safety in their respective
+workplaces.
+ If OSHA enacted an ETS a year ago, as Committee Democrats demanded,
+it would be woefully inadequate in protecting workers today. Issuing an
+ETS is not a science-based approach and is instead yet another example
+of overbearing government policy that will do nothing but constrict
+employers from safely running their businesses.
+ Four States across the country have adopted State-wide emergency
+temporary COVID-19 regulations. In California, we're already seeing its
+negative effects. Since issued in November, the regulations have
+conflicted at various points with CDC guidance for workplaces, causing
+massive confusion for employers. Additionally, the California emergency
+rule places many new and significant burdens on employers related to
+workplace testing, paid leave, and required reporting to public health
+authorities. This is no way to help an already suffering economy.
+ More mandates from Washington, including an OSHA ETS, will only add
+burdensome regulations on employers that stifle creativity and,
+ultimately, hold them back.
+ Instead, the Federal Government should be focused on ensuring
+adequate vaccine supply and distribution to vaccinate essential workers
+and providing timely public health guidance to our employers as this
+Nation works toward economic prosperity. I'd like to thank all our
+witnesses for joining us today and I look forward to hearing your
+testimony.
+ ______
+
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you to the Ranking Member. Without
+objection all of the Members who wish to insert written
+Statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the
+Committee Clerk electronically in Microsoft Word by 5 p.m.
+March 25, 2021.
+ I'd now like to introduce our witnesses. Our first witness
+will be Dr. Linsey Marr. Dr. Marr is the Charles P. Lunsford
+Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia
+Tech. She's one of a small number of researchers in the world
+who study viruses in the air. She holds a BS in engineering
+science from Harvard and a Ph.D. in civil and environmental
+engineering from US Berkeley, and she completed her post-
+doctoral training at MIT.
+ Our next witness will be Miss Pascaline Muhindura. Miss
+Muhindura is a registered nurse in Kansas City, Missouri. She
+works in a critical care unit. And since March 2020 she's been
+caring for COVID patients. She's a member of the National
+Nurses United and serves as a nurse representative and a member
+of the Professional Practice Committee for her union.
+ Following Ms. Muhindura will be Mr. Manesh Rath. Mr. Rath
+is a partner with Keller and Heckman in Washington, DC. He
+represents employers in a wide range of matters related to
+occupational safety and health, law, litigation, wage and hour
+and class action litigation and association law.
+ Our final witness will be Dr. David Michaels. Dr. Michaels
+is an epidemiologist and Professor of Environmental and
+Occupational Health at George Washington University. He served
+as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and
+Health Administration from 2009 to 2017, and he was a member of
+the Biden Harris transition COVID-19 Advisory Board.
+ To our witnesses we appreciate you for participating today.
+We look forward to your testimony, and let me remind you that
+we've read your written Statements, and they will appear in
+full in the hearing record, pursuant to Committee Rule 8(d) and
+the committee practice, each of you is asked to limit your oral
+presentation to a five-minute summary of your written
+Statement.
+ I also want to remind the witnesses that pursuant to Title
+18 of U.S. Code Section 1001 it is illegally to knowingly and
+willfully falsify any Statement, representation, writing,
+documents, or material fact presented to Congress or otherwise
+concealed, or cover up a material fact. So before you begin
+your testimony please remember to unmute your microphone.
+During your testimony staff will be keeping track of time, and
+a timer will sound when time is up.
+ Please be attentive to the time. Wrap up when your time is
+over and re-mute your microphone. If you experience technical
+difficulties during your testimony or later, in the hearing you
+should stay connected on the platform and make sure you are
+muted. Use your phone to immediately call the committee's IT
+director whose number was provided in advance.
+ So we will let the witnesses make their presentations
+before we move to Member questions. When answering a question
+please remember to unmute your microphone. I want to recognize
+first Dr. Linsey Marr.
+ Dr. Marr.
+
+ STATEMENT OF DR. LINSEY MARR, Ph.D., PROFESSOR OF CIVIL AND
+ ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, VIRGINIA
+ POLYTECHNICAL INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY, BLACKSBURG, VA
+
+ Dr. Marr. Thank you. Chairwoman Adams, Ranking Member
+Keller, and Members of the subcommittee my name is Linsey Marr,
+and I am a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at
+Virginia Tech. I have studied airborne transmission of viruses
+for the past 12 years, and have published more than 30
+scientific papers on the topic.
+ I co-authored the recent letter to the Biden administration
+and the CDC calling for immediate action to address inhalation
+exposure of SARS-CoV-2 to prevent COVID-19 infections and
+deaths. Today I will address four major points. One, how COVID-
+19 is transmitted mainly by breathing in aerosol particles
+carrying the virus.
+ Two, how best to protect workers and the public through the
+use of appropriate face coverings and other controls. Three,
+what updates are needed to CDC's guidance. And four, what needs
+to be done to protect workers and the public from becoming
+infected.
+ There are three possible ways for the virus to be
+transmitted. You can touch an object that has been contaminated
+with the virus and transfer it to your eyes, nose, or mouth, or
+you could be hit by large respiratory droplets that fly out of
+a sick person's mouth and land directly in your eyes, nose or
+mouth. Or finally, you can breathe in small aerosol particles
+from the air that float around for an extended period of time
+like cigarette smoke.
+ There is now overwhelming evidence that inhalation of tiny
+virus-containing aerosols is the main route of transmission for
+COVID-19. When people breathe, talk, sing, laugh, cough or
+sneeze, they release far more aerosols than large droplets as
+shown in this diagram.
+ These aerosols shown in red are most concentrated close to
+the sick person, and they don't fall quickly to the ground like
+the large droplets which are shown in blue. The aerosols remain
+floating in the air and follow air currents for more than six
+feet like cigarette smoke, filling a room and building up over
+time if the space does not have good ventilation, as also shown
+in the diagram.
+ When people are talking in close proximity, it is much more
+likely that they will breathe in each other's respiratory
+aerosols than shower each other with large droplets of spittle.
+Workers require special consideration because they may spend 8
+to 12 hours in a poorly ventilated environment where they
+cannot avoid sharing the air with other people, much longer
+than a customer who briefly passes through the space.
+ If ventilation if inadequate, or workers do not wear a good
+mask or respirator, they could breathe in enough viruses from
+the air to become sick with COVID-19. The most effective way to
+protect workers is to control the source of infection.
+Unfortunately, workers may be exposed to members of the public
+who are unmasked, especially in restaurants and some
+businesses.
+ The next priority is to use engineering controls such as
+ventilation, to dilute the virus in the air. Respirators and
+masks are considered the final line of defense. Because SARS-
+CoV-2 is transmitted mainly by aerosols, the appropriate PPE
+for workers at elevated risk is a high-performance mask or a
+respirator.
+ Unfortunately, most CDC guidance has not yet been updated
+or strengthened to address and limit inhalation exposure to
+aerosols. To use a technical term, it is as clear as mud. Their
+webpages downplay aerosols and airborne transmission, a
+position that is exactly opposite the best scientific evidence.
+ Their guidance continues to put workers and the public at
+serious risk of infection, and undermines the effectiveness of
+an OSHA standard. I coauthored a letter calling for CDC to
+update and strengthen its guidelines to fully address
+transmission via inhalation of aerosols at both close distances
+and farther away.
+ We also urge OSHA to issue an emergency standard on COVID-
+19 that requires implementation of control measures including
+ventilation and respiratory protection against aerosols for all
+healthcare workers and other workers at high risk, including
+those in meat packing, corrections and public transit.
+ It is clear from the evidence and our experience over the
+last year that only strong CDC guidance and OSHA standards that
+are based on the best available science will enable us to
+safely reopen workplaces and schools while ending this pandemic
+and better preparing us for the next one. Thank you.
+ [The prepared Statement of Dr. Marr follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Linsey Marr
+[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much Dr. Marr.
+ We'll now hear from Miss Pascaline Muhindura. You're
+recognized ma'am.
+
+ STATEMENT OF MS. PASCALINE MUHINDURA, REGISTERED NURSE, COVID
+ PROGRESSIVE CARE UNIT, RESEARCH
+ MEDICAL CENTER, KANSAS CITY, MO, ON BEHALF OF
+ NATIONAL NURSES UNITED
+
+ MS. Muhindura. Good morning. And thank you Chairwoman
+Adams, Ranking Member Keller, and Members of the subcommittee
+for giving me the opportunity to testify today. I'm a critical
+care nurse at Research Medical Center, an HCA healthcare
+facility in Kansas City, Missouri. And I'm a proud union member
+of National Nurses United.
+ I will make three main points today. First, my employer has
+failed to protect us. Second, the CDC and OSHA have failed to
+protect us. And third, the CDC and OSHA must take immediate
+steps to ensure that nurses and other workers get the
+protections we need.
+ For more than a year I have been caring for patients in a
+COVID unit in my hospital. Every single nurse and healthcare
+worker in my unit has contracted COVID because we were not
+given the protections we need. My colleague Celia lost her
+life. As Dr. Marr outlined SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted through
+the inhalation of aerosol particles.
+ That means that nurses and other frontline workers must be
+given respiratory protection. At minimum, we need N95
+respirators which are only safe for a single use. Power aired
+purifying respirators and elastomeric respirators are more
+protective, and are safely reusable.
+ In January 2020, nurses urge our employer to prepare for
+COVID. They didn't. When the pandemic started in March none of
+the COVID nurses had been fit tested for N95's. Management had
+not implemented our recommendation from January. On March 21
+management collected all of the PPE in the hospital, locked it
+up, and began rationing N95's.
+ The next day a patient was transferred from the emergency
+department to the cardiac telemetry unit. The nurses on the
+unit recognized the patient had signs of COVID and the asked
+management for N95's. Management refused. The patient later
+tested positive, and as a result of her exposure to this
+patient, my colleague Celia Yap-Banago contracted COVID and
+lost her life.
+ Despite Celia's death, the hospital continues to ration
+N95's. Management is still forcing us to unsafely reuse the
+same N95 for an entire shift, and is recommending that we use
+surgical masks with COVID patients. To be clear, nurses on my
+unit are still caring for COVID patients without adequate
+protection.
+ This isn't just happening in my hospital. In NNU's February
+2021 survey of nurses across the country, more than 81 percent
+report that they still have to reuse at least one type of
+single use PPE. As union nurses, my colleagues and I have been
+fighting these dangerous policies every step of the way. As
+registered nurses we know that as long as our safety is
+compromised, our patients are also at risk.
+ In all of our conversations with management they have told
+us the same thing. They're following CDC guidelines. The CDC
+guidelines are not based on science. To this day the CDC does
+not recognize aerosol transmission of COVID. The guidelines
+allow healthcare employers to give nurses surgical masks,
+instead of respirators, and to reuse N95's.
+ Management withholds PPE and they used CDC guidelines as
+their justification for putting our lives at risk. My union
+filed a complaint with OSHA last spring about the circumstances
+that led to Celia's death. OSHA found clear evidence Celia and
+other nurses have been exposed to COVID because of our
+employer's failure to provide PPE.
+ But OSHA could not cite my employer because the CDC
+guidelines are weak, and because OSHA doesn't have a standard
+on infectious disease. As union nurses, with our practice
+rooted in science, we have clear recommendations for what we
+need to be able to care for our patients safely.
+ First, we need the CDC to update its COVID guidelines to be
+based on scientific evidence, especially regarding aerosol
+transmission. The CDC needs to revoke the crisis standard on
+optimization of PPE which are based on supply consideration,
+not science. Second, we need a thorough OSHA standard that
+requires our employers to protect our health and safety at
+work. If these recommendations had been implemented 1 year ago,
+my colleague Celia, along with thousands of other healthcare
+workers would be alive today.
+ We need immediate action so that nurses and our patients
+get the protections we need.
+ [The prepared Statement of Ms. Muhindura follows.]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Pascaline Muhindura
+[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. Ok thank you. I'm going to
+go vote now on the floor and Mr. Scott will you please assume
+the gavel?
+ Mr. Scott.[Presiding] I will thank you.
+ Our next witness is Mr. Rath.
+
+ STATEMENT OF MANESH RATH, PARTNER, KELLER AND HECKMAN LLP,
+ WASHINGTON, D.C.
+
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you very much. Good morning Chair Adams,
+Mr. Scott. Thank you Ranking Member Keller and Members of this
+subcommittee. I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak before
+this subcommittee on this issue today, Clearing the Air Science
+Based Strategies to Protect Workers from COVID-19 Infections.
+ I'm Manesh Rath. I'm a partner at the law firm Keller and
+Heckman LLP, here in Washington, DC. I work with employers to
+develop effective improvements in workplace safety and health.
+In my testimony today I'm expressing only my own understanding
+of an experience in the field of occupational safety and health
+law and administrative law, and I'm not here as a
+representative of any other entity.
+ Today I will address some of the efforts that I have seen
+employers undertake in response to COVID-19 during the pandemic
+this past year, and some of the conclusions that employers have
+drawn from their experiences. During this pandemic, employers
+with whom I have worked have engaged in a continuous cycle of
+evaluation and improvement as scientific and healthcare
+understanding about COVID-19 has evolved. Employers have
+implemented fundamentally for interventions, and some simple
+interventions have endured because they work, for example
+universal use of face masks, hand washing, disinfecting
+frequently touched surfaces, and distancing where achievable,
+and installation of temporary barriers which distancing is not
+achievable.
+ We have also seen creative solutions that only the private
+sector could have developed, and could not have emanated from
+government. For example, employers have deployed private
+transportation networks for workers to isolate them from public
+transportation exposures. One, a manufacturer with whom we've
+worked, fabricated cooling booths, equipping those booths with
+air-conditioning to allow manufacturing workers to take
+periodic maskless, heat stress breaks.
+ We've seen employer deploy temporary portable adjunct space
+for additional meeting and brake rooms. Several employers we've
+worked with have increased their janitorial staff
+substantially. A couple of employers I've worked with have even
+engaged their own epidemiologists in order to respond more
+rapidly than could be seen from OSHA or the Centers for Disease
+Control and Prevention to adapt to changing science about
+COVID-19.
+ In addition, we've seen employers that have willingly tried
+interventions that have had diminishing value. For example,
+employers early in the pandemic quarantined inventory for 24
+hours if the inventory may have been exposed to positive
+workers, positive cases. We now see that that's been used less
+and less frequently, and even the CDC has recently opined in
+October 2020 that contaminated surfaces comprise an uncommon
+transmission vector.
+ In another example, every employer I've worked with
+implements symptom screening and temperature check at the
+beginning of every shift for every employee, and yet we now see
+evolving science demonstrate that asymptomatic and pre-
+symptomatic cases comprise a significant fraction of
+transmission spread.
+ The many changes we've seen at the CDC have also taught us
+the importance of a flexible guidance-based approach to COVID-
+19 in the workplace. For example, on April 6, 2020 the CDC
+recommended avoiding all non-essential travel, even intra-city.
+Within 48 hours the CDC revoked that guidance, and again
+updated it in February 2021.
+ We've seen on February 10, 2021 the CDC released an updated
+mask recommendation recommending both a disposable mask, and on
+top of that a cloth mask. So even a year after the onset of the
+pandemic the CDC's guidance has been updated on something as
+simple as masks based on data-driven science.
+ If OSHA had implemented any of these recommendations in an
+emergency temporary standard a year ago, those requirements
+would have been quickly antiquated by science, dismissed by the
+public, and a discredit to the agency. In its wisdom, OSHA
+chose instead to issue guidance documents, and indeed in a one-
+month period issued 13 guidance documents, some of which were
+industry specific, all of which could be rapidly revised to
+meet the changing conditions and science of the pandemic.
+ As with the examples I have discussed, employers have
+already demonstrated the ability to quickly adapt and implement
+new interventions faster than government can develop policy.
+For the same reason, agency guidance that can be rapidly
+updated, is better suited to our evolving understanding of
+COVID-19 than emergency regulations could be.
+ Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you, and I
+look forward to addressing any questions you may have.
+ [The prepared Statement of Mr. Rath follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Manesh Rath
+[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you.
+ Dr. Michaels.
+
+ STATEMENT OF DR. DAVID MICHAELS, Ph.D., PROFESSOR OF
+OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON
+ UNIVERSITY, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF OSHA, WASHINGTON, DC
+
+ Dr. Michaels. Thank you Chairman Scott, Ranking Member
+Foxx, Ranking Member Keller, Members of the subcommittee for
+inviting me to testify today. My name is David Michaels. I'm an
+Epidemiologist and Professor at the Milken Institute School of
+Public Health at the George Washington University.
+ From 2009 to January 2017 I served as assistant Secretary
+of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
+OSHA. I was also a member of the Biden Harris Transition COVID-
+19 Advisory Board. Workers are at the core of this pandemic.
+Millions work 8 or more hours a day in close proximity to
+coworkers or members of the public in poorly ventilated
+settings with inadequate protection performing the activities
+necessary to maintain the economy and social functioning.
+ They can't avoid exposure to the virus which has sickened
+or killed an enormously large number of them. These workers
+bring the virus home to their families and communities, helping
+drive the disproportionate and tragic impact COVID-19 has had
+on communities of color. This is the crisis for which Congress
+enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act 50 years ago,
+but OSHA was missing in action during the Trump administration.
+ It failed to take the steps necessary to require employers
+to protect workers from the virus. It did few inspections, and
+it issued miniscule fines. At one meat factory for example,
+where hundreds of workers were sickened and six died, OSHA
+issued a $15,000.00 penalty, not even a slap on the wrist for a
+multi-billion dollar corporation.
+ Fortunately, the Biden administration has committed to
+reinvigorating OSHA. The agency is expected to soon issue an
+emergency temporary standard that will require employers to
+assess the risks of exposure in their workplaces, and take
+steps appropriate to each workplace to limit it.
+ President Biden has famously promised that his
+administration will ``follow the science''. To do so as Dr.
+Marr has just testified, the CDC must update its guidance,
+acknowledge the danger of inhaling infectious particles, and
+advise employers to take appropriate measures, and OSHA's
+forthcoming standard must reflect the newest science on COVID
+transmission and worker protection.
+ There is still much to be done. After thousands of cases,
+and hundreds of deaths, workers in meat and poultry plants are
+still forced to work shoulder to shoulder instead of being
+provided improved ventilation, filtration, and adequate
+distancing. Many meat and poultry firms hang plastic sheathing
+between workers who are standing on cutting lines elbow to
+elbow even though that sheathing is ineffective in stopping
+exposure.
+ And astonishingly, we have seen some Governors and all mask
+and density mandates, these ill-advised actions will likely
+conflict with OSHA's forthcoming regulation, and is expected to
+require employers whose workers come in close contact with
+other workers or customers or the public, to mandate facial
+covering for all people in the workplace.
+ The nation also needs to do more to ensure that front line
+workers are prioritized for vaccinations. Unfortunately, many
+States have no plan to do so, or they're conducting
+insufficient outreach to help those workers get vaccinated.
+ Needed is a national plan for increasing vaccinations among
+these workers, especially those who are more difficult to reach
+because of language or cultural barriers, or the nature of
+their jobs. And despite the huge impact on this Nation's
+workers, there are a few, if any, sources of complete accurate
+data on the impact of the virus on workers in any industry or
+occupation.
+ There's no centralized effort to compile a census of
+workers who have been affected or died of the disease. Now this
+is truly a lost opportunity because there are enormous lessons
+to be learned about preventing transmission in future
+pandemics. The Federal Government needs to make concerted
+efforts to collect these data. While it may be too late to
+conduct a census of deaths, other types of studies could be
+launched that would help understand the actual toll of the
+pandemic on the Nation's workers and how to prevent future
+pandemics.
+ Now while hospitals have hailed nurses and other medical
+staff as heroes, these workers remain vulnerable to workplace
+assaults. I strongly support the Workplace Violence Prevention
+for Healthcare and Social Services Workers Act, H.R. 1195 and
+grateful to Representative Joseph Courtney who reintroduced the
+bill last month with bipartisan support.
+ In addition, the accurate reporting of workplace injuries
+and illnesses by employers is vital to help OSHA target the
+most hazardous workplaces. I strongly support H.R. 1180, the
+Accurate Workplace Injury and Illness Record Restoration Act,
+which Representative Mark Takano introduced to restore OHSA's
+ability to cite employers who systematically fail to record
+workplace injuries and illnesses.
+ Thank you for this opportunity to testify. I look forward
+to your questions.
+ [The prepared Statement of Dr. Michaels follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of David Michaels
+[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. Now we'll have Member questions and
+I'll begin with myself. I recognize myself for five minutes.
+ Dr. Michaels we heard a comment about the problem of
+incorporating guidance in an ETS, and if the guidance changed,
+the ETS changes. How complicated and confusing, would that be
+if at all?
+ Dr. Michaels. Thank you for that question Chairman Scott,
+and thank you for your work in this area. You know that's a
+caricature of an OSHA standard, and it's totally wrong. The key
+part of the emergency temporary standard as I understand it,
+what we might expect to see is essentially telling employers,
+look. Assess what's going on in your workplace. Do a hazard
+assessment, and then look at the guidance that comes out of
+CDC. Look at what we understand about how workplace
+transmission takes place, and take steps accordingly.
+ Now I very much agree with Mr. Rath that we don't need to
+be doing you know major disinfection. And that really turned
+out not to be effective, and it's really I believe that if CDC
+changes their guidance on that, you know, employers will do
+much less of that.
+ So right now the problem is CDC guidelines are out of date,
+and whatever the OSHA standard is, it's going to say use that
+CDC standard. And when CDC standard's change, workers get
+better protection because CDC has improved their thinking about
+how to protect workers.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. And Dr. Michaels are you familiar
+with the Virginia ETS and now permanent standard?
+ Dr. Michaels. I am. Virginia was the first State to issue
+an ETS, and the first State to issue a permanent standard to
+protect workers from airborne infectious diseases.
+ Mr. Scott. And how effective is that standard, and how
+burdensome is it?
+ Dr. Michaels. Well I believe it's very effective. Look, you
+know as you've heard from Mr. Rath, some employers do the right
+thing without being required to, but many employers don't. And
+that's why Virginia issued the standard. I think it's been very
+effective in making sure that those employers who wouldn't
+normally have made those steps to protect workers are now doing
+so.
+ They know they have to provide social distancing. They have
+to provide masks in workplace. And they've also given
+information to the Virginia government that's really important.
+There's a requirement to notify the Virginia State Health
+Department when cases are found and when there's a cluster at a
+workplace, Virginia OSHA is told, so they can actually go out
+and do some inspections.
+ Mr. Scott. Now did you follow the regulatory adoption of
+that standard.
+ Dr. Michaels. Yes I did. The Virginia Board included
+representatives workers of workers, of employers in the public,
+voted on it and it was passed by a large majority.
+ Mr. Scott. Did that include the employer representatives?
+ Dr. Michaels. Yes it did.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. You were at OSHA before. Can you tell
+us the importance of accurately recording data so that under
+Mr. Takano's bill, what difference does accurate recording of
+data--what difference does that make?
+ Dr. Michaels. Oh. That is such an important question. You
+know OSHA requires most employers to keep track of injuries and
+illnesses, and that information is really important for that
+employer, for the workers in that workplace, because recording
+injuries and illnesses accurately and completely provides a
+roadmap to prevent future injuries from occurring.
+ Unfortunately, we've gotten into a situation where there
+really is no enforceable requirement for employers to record
+data accurately, and the result of that is many of these OSHA
+logs are incomplete, and so it's hard to actually figure out
+the best way to prevent future injuries.
+ Mr. Scott. And finally, Mr. Courtney's bill on violence
+prevention essentially requires employers to have a plan to
+deal with violence. Can you tell us what those plans look like
+and how effective they are?
+ Dr. Michaels. Well again, every employer will make a
+different plan. You know this idea that there's a one-size-
+fits-all OSHA requirement, each employer if it's a psychiatric
+hospital, it would like one way. If it's an emergency room it
+would look another way, but it would say this is what we're
+going to do to make sure workers are protected, so they can do
+their jobs, they can take care of their patients.
+ That plan might say for example, in certain situations you
+can't have a worker by themselves with a patient with a known
+psychiatric violent problem where every room has to have an
+emergency button that could be pushed to bring a security guard
+when necessary.
+ So each one would be different, but each would be
+appropriate, and that would certainly make healthcare much more
+less stressful, less dangerous for the workers, and better for
+all of us who essentially see those healthcare professionals
+and need their help.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you very much. My time has expired. Mr.
+Keller you're recognized for five minutes.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you. Mr. Rath since the COVID-19 pandemic
+was declared and became a threat to the U.S. workplaces in
+early 2020, the scientific understanding of the virus has
+dramatically changed, and continues to do so. Can you explain
+how the public health guidance for preventing the spread of
+COVID-19 in the workplace from CDC and OSHA has evolved since
+the early days of the virus, and how employers have responded
+to adopt the necessary precautions over time.
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for your question Ranking Member
+Keller. This is a good question. What we've seen over the past
+year at the employer level is that they have spent an enormous
+amount of energy rightly so, trying to stay up to date with
+changes in our science, and our healthcare understanding of
+COVID-19, and its transmission at the workplace.
+ Some of those developing standards or guidance's that have
+come from the CDC have been helpful and at some point they were
+rolling out changes multiple times a week and employers were
+doing their best to keep up with those changes, and contemplate
+and implement changes in the workplace accordingly, including
+the questions of what are the symptoms?
+ That list was rapidly developing in the early months. We
+saw the list expand, we bifurcated into higher and lower levels
+of specificity and then be compressed into a singular list
+again, how long people should be quarantined, or isolated if
+they were positive or came in close contact with a positive
+case.
+ And employers have done an excellent job that I've worked
+with in trying to implement well-intentioned policies to keep
+up with that science. That science has been changing, and it
+continues to change, and as I mentioned earlier just a month
+ago the CDC revised its view on mask wearing to State its
+recommendation that two masks be worn--a disposable mask
+underneath a cloth mask.
+ These are data-driven changes from the Centers for Disease
+Control, and employers have continued to very rapidly, make
+changes in the workplace accordingly. Far more rapidly we've
+seen employers make changes, and then later on we've seen the
+Centers for Disease Control, or OSHA-issued guidance for
+example, two employers I've worked with have engaged their own
+epidemiologists, and have looked directly to scientific
+studies, bypassing, much more rapidly bypassing, the
+implementation of a change of policy at the Centers for Disease
+Control and Prevention, and far more rapidly still than
+guidance could be issued by OSHA.
+ Once OSHA issues an emergency temporary standard it has one
+chance to do so, and then that is immutable and intransigent
+against successive evolutions in science. And so that has been
+a success story with the employers with whom I've worked.
+ Mr. Keller. So, some of the employers have taken it upon
+themselves to make sure when they've investigated and found a
+better way to do things, they've been ahead of OSHA and CDC in
+some cases?
+ Mr. Rath. In several instances that's correct. They've
+looked directly to the scientific journals and scientific
+studies as soon as they've been published, evaluated those
+studies and made changes quickly, and then you've seen those
+changes manifest themselves in CDC guidance, and then far later
+still sometimes through OSHA guidance.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you. And another question Mr. Rath,
+Ranking Member Foxx and I sent a letter to acting Secretary of
+Labor Al Stewart asking the department to consider the impact
+that a one-size-fits-all OSHA regulation could have on small
+businesses. Can you explain the customary process in which OSHA
+fulfills its small business feedback related to regulatory
+initiatives?
+ Mr. Rath. That's an excellent question Ranking Member
+Keller, thank you for asking it. Under traditional rulemaking
+there is a step in the rulemaking process where the agency has
+to solicit the input of small businesses, small business
+representative entities, and it has to also separately,
+evaluate the impact of a regulation on small businesses.
+ That in addition to scientific data. Scientific data cannot
+write a regulation. It has to be alloyed with this small
+business impact consideration as well as technical and economic
+feasibility considerations. All rules have to go through these
+processes. And if you go through an emergency temporary
+standard, that would exclude the small business stakeholders
+from being able to contribute comments as to how it would
+impact small businesses.
+ Mr. Keller. So an emergency temporary standard would bypass
+America's small businesses which are the backbone of our
+economy?
+ Mr. Rath. That's correct. It would go straight to
+developing a rule without small business input.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you. And how important do you think it is
+to solicit the feedback from small businesses before an
+emergency temporary standard related to COVID-19 is
+contemplated?
+ Mr. Rath. Small businesses are a special case because they
+comprise the largest fraction of the work force, and safety and
+health in small businesses is therefore just as important or
+more so, than the large employers that comprise a much lesser
+fraction of the total work force.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you. And I just want to make the point. I
+worked in a factory and my experience was that employers do
+value and appreciate the people that come to work every day.
+And for us not to consider all of America's small business,
+they're innovators, our neighbors, the people that make our
+communities so great. I think it would be a huge mistake by our
+government to discount and not hear their voices, so thank you
+and I yield back.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. The gentlemen's time has expired. Mr.
+Takano are you there?
+ [No response.]
+ Mr. Scott. Mr. Norcross?
+ [No response.]
+ Mr. Scott. Ms. Jayapal?
+ Ms. Jayapal. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Scott. Ms. Jayapal you're recognized for five minutes.
+ Ms. Jayapal. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Estimates from the CDC
+put the total number of COVID cases at over 28 million, and
+over half a million people have died. I think we have a real
+duty in Congress to learn what we can from the stories of
+people, particularly the workers that have suffered the worst
+of the pandemic, and to confront the stories they tell us about
+inequalities that are tearing our society apart.
+ I think we have to learn what we can to turn the tide
+against this virus, and to ensure that our country leaves
+future generations better prepared. Dr. Michaels, is it true
+that the Federal Government has no comprehensive system to
+track worker deaths or infections from COVID-19?
+ Dr. Michaels. Representative Jayapal. Unfortunately, that
+is correct. Essentially the Federal Government leaves it up to
+the States to even classify cases and deaths being work-
+related, not even work-related, but to collect information
+about industry and occupation.
+ And the States have inadequate resources, and have not been
+able to do that. There really has been no effort made to have
+an overall number. I'll give you an example. We know that you
+know hundreds of thousands, 400,000 healthcare workers have
+reported to become infected. But we have actually the status of
+their healthcare workers are less than 20 percent of all cases.
+So the number could be far, far higher.
+ And while the number is important, more important is
+understanding why people were exposed. What happens to them
+after they're exposed? What happens to their communities? And
+while there have been some studies being done, there really
+aren't that many, and the feds have not stepped up to the plate
+to do this.
+ Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. I think it is incredibly important
+for all those reasons for us to have that national strategy,
+and to do the research that you're talking about. It seems like
+we could start by paying attention to the COVID-19 related
+whistleblower complaints from workers who face retaliation when
+exercising their workplace health and safety rights.
+ In your opinion has OSHA's response to whistleblower
+complaints been adequate, and if not, what do you recommend
+that the subcommittee or Congress do about it?
+ Dr. Michaels. You know this is a complicated question in
+that I mean there's no question that OSHA's response has not
+been adequate. OSHA received thousands of complaints of
+whistleblowers during the last year of workers who have
+complained that they've been retaliated against for raising
+concerns.
+ OSHA has attempted to close some of those cases, and
+they've been overwhelmed. In addition to I think the lack of
+commitment of the previous administration, the whistleblower
+protection provisions of the OSHA law are miserably weak, and
+there were many hearings on this. I certainly testified in
+front of Congress several times.
+ A whistleblower who is retaliated against for calling OSHA
+for example, has only 30 days to apply for--to complain to
+OSHA, and OSHA has limited availability to get them back to
+work. They have to go to court if the employer doesn't agree.
+ So I think the thing that we should be thinking about is
+how to improve the protections of workers so they can raise
+concerns about their health and safety, or their coworkers, and
+really get the protection that they need to have.
+ Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. Let me stay on this topic of
+whistleblowers for a second. Miss Muhindura thank you so much
+for your service on the front lines, taking care of people
+every day, and in such difficult circumstances. We are truly
+grateful to you and nurses across the country.
+ In your experience, what does it mean for black, brown, and
+immigrant workers when whistleblower complaints don't receive
+an adequate response?
+ Ms. Muhindura. Congresswoman Jayapal thank you so much for
+the question. There's a large percentage of brown and black
+immigrant workers who are on the frontline. And so when
+employers do not give us the protection that we need it is
+upsetting, it makes us feel that we're disposable.
+ In addition to having the CDC and OSHA abandon us, it was
+extremely disappointing, and it adds to the anxiety and the
+traumatic experience that we are already experiencing because
+of COVID.
+ Ms. Jayapal. And do you have statistics on the disparities
+that you want to put before us and enter into the record beyond
+what you said in your testimony?
+ Ms. Muhindura. I do not.
+ Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. I've looked at some of the data on
+this, and it seems to me that this is you know these
+disparities are shameful. We have a real obligation to address
+them, and I think the lack of reliable data on workplace
+infections, because we don't have this national strategy and
+these things in place, the research that Dr. Michaels was
+talking about, it puts all workers at risk, and particularly
+those who are black, brown, immigrant, who lack the other
+workplace protections that are really essential.
+ So I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to
+ensure that the CDC and OSHA adopt the latest scientific means
+to stop the spread of COVID-19 at work, and I thank you Mr.
+Chairman and yield back.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. I see that the Chair has returned.
+Madam Chair the Ranking Member is the next to be recognized,
+Dr. Foxx, so if you could recognize her then you'll be given a
+list from there on.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much Mr. Scott. I want to
+recognize the gentlelady from North Carolina, Dr. Foxx.
+ Ms. Foxx. Thank you Madam Chairman and thank you Mr. Scott.
+Mr. Rath if the Federal Government adds additional mandates on
+employers related to COVID-19 without considering the real-
+world feasibility of such a decree, what impact would this have
+on keeping workplaces safe during the pandemic?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you Ms. Foxx for this question. It's a good
+question. Two things emerge to mind immediately. The first is
+that if an emergency temporary standard was the vehicle by
+which OSHA decided to regulate the subject, the science which
+has continued to evolve will evolve over the top of that
+emergency standard, and it will quickly become outdated, and
+the agency will have little means by which to update it.
+ Whereas, by contrast guidance documents can be updated
+quickly and iteratively any number of times to meet changes in
+our scientific understanding. The second thing I'd say is that
+the stakeholders have expertise.
+ They have developed an acquired experience and learning
+about what works and what doesn't, and their input would yield
+a substantially better set of policies by the agency and at the
+workplace than an emergency temporary standard which excludes
+and disenfranchises the expertise of employers, scientists, the
+healthcare community and employee representative groups.
+ Ms. Foxx. Thank you Mr. Rath. Another question. Ranking
+Member Keller and I sent a letter to acting Secretary of Labor
+Al Stewart on February 25th inquiring about the steps the
+agency's has taken to determine whether an OSHA emergency
+temporary standard is necessary to protect workers from COVID-
+19, and encouraging the agency to solicit feedback from
+businesses and workers before they made that determination.
+ I'm a strong proponent of evidence-based policymaking. In
+your view would feedback from employers and workers who have
+been on the front lines of keeping workplaces safe over the
+last year, be helpful to the Labor Department in making this
+determination?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question Representative Foxx.
+That is an excellent question, and the answer is yes, clearly
+employees and employers have acquired a substantial amount of
+valuable experience and knowledge, not only as to what works in
+terms of interventions, but what hasn't worked, and what hasn't
+been effective.
+ And as well, the scientific community and the healthcare
+community should be provided the opportunity to comment and
+that is the value of traditional rulemaking. It is a part of
+administrative law that we've recognized for between 80 and 90
+years, and shouldn't be lightly dispensed with during the
+pandemic.
+ Ms. Foxx. A followup. What impact would new and complex
+regulatory requirements from OSHA which would override the
+guidance issued by the CDC and State public health agencies
+have on the universal adoption of basic health measures in
+preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question. I'll limit myself to
+my experience, which is strictly as an attorney representing
+employers in the field of occupational safety and health law.
+And I would suggest that employers who have carefully examined
+the experience that they're witnessing at the workplace, have
+been better able to identify the kinds of interventions that
+work and don't work.
+ And that their consultation with epidemiologists and
+healthcare, members of healthcare industry, has fashioned
+better policies and practices of workplace at the workplaces
+that I've been able to collaborate with employers.
+ Ms. Foxx. Well it's my experience that employers want very
+much to protect their employees. They care for their employees.
+In many cases they're like families to them. And unfortunately,
+our friends on the other side of the aisle don't see things
+that way.
+ One more followup. Over the last year employers have made
+significant efforts and investments to adopt health and safety
+precautions to protect their workers and prevent the spread of
+COVID in the workplace.
+ You eluded to this, but what have been some of the most
+innovative measures adopted by employers, and how effective
+have they been in ensuring safe workplaces?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question Representative Foxx.
+We've worked with employers who as I said before have engaged
+their own epidemiologists on engagement so that they can stay
+up to date with current science.
+ We've worked with employers who have rolled in temporary
+adjunct space so that they could have additional space for
+breaks. One employer has manufactured separate cooling stations
+so that manufacturing workers on the plant floor could take
+mask less breaks.
+ I'll add to what we've discussed before. When we talked to
+an employer who has developed their own testing capacity, so
+that they can engage in more rapid testing on a regular basis
+of their work staff to keep the work force going, healthy,
+safe, and the business running.
+ Ms. Foxx. Thank you Mr. Rath and again, I know employers
+want to keep their employees safe and healthy. And that's the
+attitude we should have. How can we help them do better with
+what they know to do, but they're smart people and they'll do
+it. Thank you Madam Chairman I yield back.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. I want to recognize myself
+now for five minutes. Mr. Rath let me just cut right to the
+heart of the issue. Do you think that COVID-19 presents a grave
+danger to workers? Can you give me a yes or no?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question Miss Chair. Yes.
+There's no question that COVID-19 presents a health and safety
+risk to the work force. It is also a community risk.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you.
+ Mr. Rath. And employers have a substantial role in it, but
+not of course the only role in a community spread environment.
+ Ms. Adams. All right let me move on. I've got five
+questions. Thank you. Dr. Michaels, do you think COVID-19
+presents a grave danger to workers? A yes or no?
+ Dr. Michaels. Yes.
+ Ms. Adams. OK. Miss Muhindura what about you? Do you think
+COVID-19 presents a grave danger to workers? Yes or no?
+ Ms. Muhindura. Totally yes.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you. Dr. Marr can you describe some of the
+overwhelming evidence that inhalation of virus containing
+aerosols is the main route of transmission for COVID-19?
+ Dr. Marr. Dr. Adams thank you for the question. Yes. The
+first piece of evidence is super spreading events. We've heard
+of these. The choir practice where 53 out of 61 attendees
+became sick and two of them died. Gym classes where 55 out of
+81 people became sick, even though they were six feet apart.
+Inhalation of aerosols in shared air is the best explanation
+for these types of events which can also happen in workplaces,
+as clearly not everyone has spent 15 minutes close to the
+infected person.
+ There's also we know transmission by people who are
+infected, but who do not yet have symptoms, asymptomatic or
+pre-symptomatic. They're not coughing. They can transmit anyway
+because the virus is released in aerosols that come out when we
+just breathe and talk.
+ We see substantial indoor transmission, almost no outdoor
+transmission. That means that's because these aerosols are
+rapidly diluted in outdoor area. In a study that traced over
+7,000 cases of disease there was only one instance of
+transmission that occurred outdoors, and then there have been
+many scientific studies where we look at, collect virus
+samples, or air samples in hospitals. We know the various
+survives for many hours in the air. I could go on, but I don't
+want to take up all of your time.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. Thank you. Miss Muhindura
+you testified that you and every nurse on your unit became
+infected with COVID-19. Can you describe your experience?
+ Ms. Muhindura. Yes. When I tested positive for COVID, it
+was a terrifying experience. I was very anxious. I was lucky to
+have relatively mild symptoms, but my anxiety came from the
+fact that I had been caring for extremely sick patients that
+had been infected with COVID.
+ So that was always in the back of my mind what would happen
+if I got that sick. I was also angry because I knew I got sick
+because I wasn't protected at work. And to make matters worse
+it was the week of Thanksgiving and I missed my daughter's
+birthday because of that because I was under quarantine, so
+yes.
+ Ms. Adams. So OSHA refused to cite your hospital despite
+obviously preventable hazards that led to the death of a nurse,
+and their excuse was that there was no OSHA standard. Instead
+they sent your hospital voluntary recommendations in a hazard
+alert letter that told your employer that you may voluntarily
+provide this area office with progress reports on your efforts
+to address COVID-19 hazards in your workplace.
+ So what effect did this hazard alert letter have on
+improving conditions in your workplace?
+ Ms. Muhindura. Thank you so much for the question. I
+believe the hazard letter was sent sometime in February of this
+year, and fortunately, I'm part of the National Nurses United,
+and I feel like most of the measures that have been
+implemented, were implemented because of the advocacy that we
+had been doing since last March.
+ And I don't particularly see a lot of changes that have
+come out of the hazard letter.
+ Ms. Adams. So if your management, your hospital would have
+taken safety more seriously if there had been an enforceable
+OSHA standard, do you think that they would have taken it more
+seriously, you think?
+ Ms. Muhindura. Yes. I definitely think after reading the
+OSHA response it was clear that OSHA could not site my employer
+because OSHA doesn't have a standard. So as long as OSHA
+doesn't have a standard, our employers were not being held
+accountable for putting the employees at risk. So I definitely
+think an OSHA standard would enforce that.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. Thank you for your
+testimony. I'm going to recognize Miss Stefanik from New York.
+You're recognized ma'am. Oh she's not here. Mrs. Miller-Meeks
+of Iowa you're recognized.
+ Ms. Miller-Meeks. I'm trying to unmute. There we go.
+ Ms. Adams. OK.
+ Ms. Miller-Meeks. I was trying to unmute myself. Thank you
+so much Chair Adams and Ranking Member Foxx. So you know I'm a
+physician, former nurse, so Miss Muhindura, thank you very much
+for your activities as a nurse. Also former Director of the
+Iowa Department of Public Health.
+ So it is new information to me that there is vast
+aerosolization of COVID-19, and I think that's why it's not on
+the CDC site, so with all due respect to the science, and in
+addition to which I don't think on the CDC site there's also
+recommendations for improving your immune system such as
+Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc, which I have actually started
+taking myself at the beginning of the pandemic.
+ We certainly know, and I think was asked about COVID-19 and
+representing a risk to workers, and workers are not in
+isolation. Workers live within a community, so the only place
+where COVID-19 is contracted is certainly not at the workplace
+which leads to my question.
+ Dr. Michaels, a yes or no question. Have you visited a meat
+processing facility during the pandemic?
+ Dr. Michaels. Not during the pandemic. Previously I have. I
+haven't left my house much during the pandemic.
+ Ms. Miller-Meeks. Thank you for that. I have not been able
+to visit the meat processing facilities in Iowa in my
+congressional district or in my Senate district, but working
+with our public health departments, our county public health
+departments, and our meat processing facilities very early in
+the pandemic, we went through changing shift work, adding
+additional shifts, separating workers, putting up barriers,
+temperature checking on infants, separate dining facilities,
+altering the rotation for when people could dine, separating
+utensils not to have any reusable utensils, or grabbing
+utensils out of a common container.
+ And also even limiting, not putting salt and pepper shakers
+there so people could not contract COVID-19 through that. So it
+seems to me that because this is a public health issue in our
+communities, not just a workplace safety issue, it's hard to
+determine.
+ And I have worked in fact with my local health departments
+on testing and contact tracing, that it's difficult to
+determine where an individual contracted COVID-19. So Mr. Rath
+what is OSHA's current policy on recording of COVID-19 cases on
+employer, and on employer injury and illness logs, and what are
+the challenges in trying to determine where an individual
+contracted COVID-19?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question. Employers are
+required by OSHA to record work related injuries and illnesses,
+and this includes illnesses through COVID-19. So there is a
+requirement to record COVID-19 cases in the injury and illness
+record keeping form.
+ There is a problem for employers. As you note this is a
+community spread phenomenon and so employers are challenged.
+And they struggle, even with the best of intentions it's
+difficult to know which cases are contracted in the workplace
+and which ones come from community spread.
+ This is a disease that is inherently idiopathic in its
+etiology. And the presumption of work relatedness is certainly
+a starting point, but knowing that employees in 75 percent of
+their work week are outside of the workplace makes it difficult
+to know which cases are work related, and which cases are non-
+work related.
+ Therefore the data, given all the confounding factors, is
+of necessarily limited value, but it is important to make those
+record entries nevertheless, to see if the data will yield
+something of any benefit.
+ Ms. Miller-Meeks. Thank you. And again Mr. Rath, now that
+vaccines are available, and when we're looking at where an
+individual contracted COVID-19 and perhaps they're looking to
+their workplace for workman's compensation. If an individual
+refuses a vaccine should that play into if COVID-19 was
+contracted, and you can't prove where it was contracted from,
+how do you think that that interplay will occur if an employee
+does refuse or decline vaccination, especially if offered at
+the workplace.
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question. The question you're
+asking essentially goes to the intersection between
+occupational and safety health law, as well as several other
+areas of workplace law. For example, an employee may have
+declined a vaccination out of a generally held, or sincerely
+held religious belief, and there may be a medical opinion for
+that particular employee that's an underlying condition which
+would qualify for coverage under the Americans With
+Disabilities Act, may motivate the employee not to take a
+vaccination.
+ And so employers have to find opportunities to understand
+whether or not they need to accommodate those particular
+circumstances before rendering a workplace decision on merely
+the mere fact of a declination for a vaccination.
+ Ms. Miller-Meeks. Thank you Chair Adams. I yield back my
+time.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. The gentleman from
+California, Mr. Takano you are recognized.
+ Mr. Takano. I'm trying to unmute myself Madam Chair. Thank
+you. Thank you Madam Chair. I'd like to hone in on Mr.
+Michaels, Dr. Michaels question that Chairman Scott began to
+ask you. Can you tell me what the Volks rule is, what the Volks
+rule was?
+ Dr. Michaels. Yes. The Volks rule was a regulation that we
+put out when I was running OSHA that essentially said that
+employers have to maintain a complete and accurate log for five
+years, actually five and a half years after the injury
+occurred. It was in response to a court decision that said that
+the previous rule that OSHA had was not well-written.
+ They need to be essentially fixed. OSHA long has had the
+policy that employers must keep track of injuries for five
+years. That means its on their premises, so they can use it,
+workers can see it, and OSHA inspectors can see it. The Volks
+rule was overturned by Congress in a congressional review act,
+and so essentially OSHA has no ability to issue a fine against
+the employer if they find an injury was not on the log if 6
+months after the injury occurred.
+ Mr. Takano. Thank you Mr. Volk--thank you Dr. Michaels.
+This rule also would have required them to record illnesses as
+well, is that right?
+ Dr. Michaels. Absolutely.
+ Mr. Takano. OK. And I want to be clear this was overturned
+by a congressional review act in 2017 by the republican
+controlled Congress and signed by President Trump.
+ Dr. Michaels. Yes that's correct.
+ Mr. Takano. So tell me why this rule was so important.
+ Dr. Michaels. Well you know we've seen that employers
+realize if they're never going to get caught by OSHA, there's
+no reason to record the injuries and illnesses. Now some
+employers always want to do the right thing and have very
+accurate records because they know that helps them prevent the
+injuries and illnesses in the future.
+ But not all employers are like that, and many take the low
+road and try to avoid that. In addition we have a regulation
+that says that employers have to provide OSHA with summary
+data, and that is going to be made public. And so they don't
+want people to know if things are really bad at their work
+place, they don't want people to know that.
+ And so this is the opportunity to essentially to lie about
+that. So it's really a problem.
+ Mr. Takano. Mr. Rath do you agree that it's important for
+employers to keep records? I think you in your response to Dr.
+Miller-Meeks you said you know it's not necessarily
+determinative that an illness occurred at the workplace, but
+it's important to have that data. You would agree with that?
+ Mr. Rath. Yes and that's a good question. Thank you. There
+are four constituents that would want that data, employers who
+want to define a story, a pattern from the data, employees who
+have a right to know. Government should want to see the data,
+should have access to the data if it wants to see it, and
+researchers should also have access to that data.
+ This is important, but the question at stake is whether or
+not an omission or an error from more than 180 days ago
+constitutes a continuing violation. It does not. It is well
+accepted, and that's what Congress said 40 years ago when they
+had enacted the OSH Act that it was a discreet moment of
+violation and not a continual violation.
+ Mr. Takano. Well it's still important necessarily, you
+would concede that it's important to keep these records.
+Employees have a right to know whether illnesses are occurring
+at workplace. Health officials need to know whether it's a
+pattern for a number of reasons. Dr. Michaels as you know I
+have legislation which I've introduced, H.R. 1180, the Accurate
+Workplace Injury and Illness Record Restoration Act, which
+would restore OSHA's ability to cite employers who
+systematically fail to record workplace injuries and illnesses.
+ Do you think this is an important tool for OSHA to have in
+order to be able to provide safety for workers in the
+workplace?
+ Dr. Michaels. There is no question. It is a vital tool, and
+that's why I'm a strong supporter of H.R. 1180. You know OSHA
+citations for recordkeeping violations have dropped by more
+than 50 percent in recent years.
+ And that means data isn't accurate. No one really knows
+what's going on in workplaces, and we can't prevent injuries
+and illnesses if we don't know what's going on.
+ Mr. Takano. Well thank you. Very quickly Dr. Marr. Why is
+it that you think, do you have an opinion about why the CDC
+hasn't taken a firm stand on aerosol or particle transmission
+of COVID-19 standards?
+ Dr. Marr. Thank you that's a great question. On March 5,
+2020 over a year ago I tweeted out let's talk about airborne
+transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses and explained how
+it works. There is a reluctance though among the medical
+community to acknowledge this because I think you can't see
+aerosols, so they're harder to understand.
+ There's been a long-standing bias against transmission of
+viruses through the air. There's also a concern in hospitals
+because the word airborne has a special meaning. And then last
+early in the pandemic there were concerns about limited
+supplies of N95's and so that drove some of the messaging.
+ Mr. Takano. I wish I could ask some more questions, but I
+yield back Madam Chair. Thank you.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you Mr. Takano. I want to recognize the
+gentleman from Utah, from Virginia I'm sorry, Mr. Good from
+Virginia. You're recognized sir.
+ Mr. Good. Thank you Madam Chair. It's great to be with all
+of you this morning and I appreciate this opportunity to talk
+with our witnesses. And my questions are going to be directed
+to Mr. Rath. Mr. Rath with the House Oversight Committee
+reporting that over 13,000 regulatory guidance documents have
+been issued just since 2008, I would hope that we could all
+agree that a high threshold should be reached before we subject
+businesses to more regulations that are difficult and costly to
+comply with, and that are disruptive to their essential
+operations.
+ Furthermore, since the communication regarding the
+effectiveness of mask mandates has been inconsistent at best,
+it even seems to contradict decades of pre-COVID lockdown
+studies, we should be cautious to say the least about
+continuing, let alone increasing related regulations,
+restrictions and mandates on citizens and businesses.
+ We know that masks can help with large droplets, but
+there's conflicting reports regarding whether they truly help
+with small aerosol droplets such as those which transmit the
+viruses. And it seems that we're unable to prevent those small
+aerosol droplets from circulating in a normal course of life
+which is needed for all of us to survive and prosper.
+ Most of us were already practicing social distancing in the
+workplace, and frequently washing our hands pre-COVID, and now
+we're even more aware of course of that importance with the
+COVID virus, and those with other health factors, or working in
+higher risk professions need to take greater precautions.
+ Furthermore, we have seen reports that some 70 percent of
+COVID infections actually take place among family members, or
+those living together at home, while only 1 percent of
+infections have come from people visiting a public place such
+as a bar or restaurant.
+ Now that said Mr. Rath, are you aware of any documented
+cases of anyone contracting or transmitting the virus while
+visiting a business without a mask?
+ Mr. Rath. Well that's a good question Congressman, I have
+not had access in my capacity as an occupational safety and
+health law attorney to understand that level of data. And I
+think that that data may be properly the sphere of public
+health agencies, or of the employer themselves.
+ But I will say that when employers that I've worked with
+look at the questions of which interventions to interpose, they
+look for opportunities to achieve the greatest gains in safety
+and health the most quickly in order to preserve the greatest
+number of employees health and lives, and that has been
+something that every employer I've worked with has been
+sincerely committed to, and that's the question that they
+debate every day when it comes to universal adoption of masks,
+universal adoption of hand-washing and distancing, where
+distancing is not possible the installation of barriers, et
+cetera.
+ Mr. Good. Well thank you, and again your answer was that
+you were not aware of any case--any documented case, of someone
+contracting or transmitting the virus while visiting a business
+without a mask. How about are you aware of any documented case
+of anyone contracting or transmitting the virus to or from a
+coworker because of the failure of one or both to wear a mask?
+ Mr. Rath. Well Representative, that's a very good question
+and again as an occupational safety and health attorney I don't
+have the access to that kind of data. What we do work with
+employers on is how to make sure that that kind of transmission
+happens as infrequently as possible or not at all.
+ Mr. Good. Are you aware of any documented case of a
+customer contracting or transmitting the virus to or from an
+employee because of a failure of one or both to wear a mask?
+ Mr. Rath. That's a good question. That question the
+understanding of how a customer and worker might transmit the
+disease is inherently unknowable because of the high degree
+of--high number of confounding factors such as the conduct
+behavior and exposures of both parties outside of their brief
+interchange.
+ Mr. Good. How about if we take that a little bit broader
+rather than going individually. Can you point to any conclusive
+data, or scientific evidence showing higher COVID virus
+contraction or transmission rates based on whether customers or
+employees were required to wear masks in general. Can we point
+to any data, any evidence of that?
+ Mr. Rath. I would not have in my role any access to that
+kind of data. But we do know that the employers we've worked
+with without any exception, have embraced and stringently
+adopted a universal mask requirement in order to preserve the
+health of their work force.
+ Mr. Good. Well we understand that people might embrace
+that, or people might choose to apply that, but take it even
+broader. Can you point to any conclusive comparison data
+regarding the virus transmission rates for companies or
+organizations, counties within a State, States themselves, or
+even countries.
+ So conclusive comparison data regarding the virus
+transmission rates for again, for a company or organization,
+for a county within a State, for a State itself, or a country,
+based on the degree of mask restrictions, mandates or
+compliance?
+ Mr. Rath. I personally am not aware of any such data.
+ Mr. Good. So each of these questions that I've asked you
+have been answered in the negative that we don't have any data
+that we can point to, any documentation that we can point to,
+to justify mandates, regulations, restrictions being forced
+upon companies and organizations. And so I thank you for your
+answer, and I yield the balance of my time.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. I want to recognize Mr.
+Jones from New York.
+ Mr. Jones. Well thank you Madam Chair, and thank you to the
+witnesses for their testimony today. I am struck by some of the
+issues you have highlighted. As you know New York was the
+epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring in my district,
+which covers parts of Westchester and all of Rockland County
+was hit especially hard during that extremely difficult time.
+ Even today Rockland County has the highest rate of COVID-19
+infection of any county in the entire State of New York. Mr.
+Rath, I'm going to start with you. You testified about the
+great things some employers are doing to protect their workers,
+but we've heard testimony today that many other employers have
+been ignoring measures to protect their workers.
+ Isn't it obvious that national standards would ensure more
+employers protect their workers?
+ Mr. Rath. That's a very good question Representative Jones.
+Thank you for the question. The problem with a universal
+national standard is that as we've already seen in the past
+year, science quickly evolves, and rules over standard making
+the intransigent standard unable to adopt or adapt to our
+newfound science, or healthcare understanding of the disease.
+And for that reason guidance is a more effective policy
+instrument.
+ Mr. Jones. Mr. Rath, but couldn't there be a rule or a
+standard that allows for new scientific information to be
+uncovered and to adapt accordingly?
+ Mr. Rath. That's a great question. Unfortunately, we see
+OSHA has issued public Statements numerous times complaining
+that the standards that it passed in the 1970's and the 1980's
+have become outdated, and that the rulemaking process to revise
+that is not only time-consuming and resource-consuming, but it
+won't be implemented quickly enough to make the difference that
+employers can make, and that agencies like CDC and OSHA can
+make through guidance.
+ Mr. Jones. I'm reclaiming my time. Thank you so much. You
+said in your testimony that an emergency temporary standard is
+not a suitable vehicle for government intervention in the
+pandemic, and that employers will prevail against the spread of
+Coronavirus. But respectively sir, I think we see how the
+thoughts and prayers approach plays out in for example the gun
+violence context, where the government literally does nothing
+to address that epidemic, thankfully, by the way today House
+democrats are doing something about gun violence.
+ But also your approach to addressing COVID-19 in the
+workplace is in line with the previous administration's
+position. The Trump administration downplayed the danger COVID-
+19 posed to workers and the general public. The administration
+even failed to protect its own staff.
+ We know that from September to January as many as 48 White
+House staff and associates tested positive for Coronavirus,
+including top officials in the President's inner circle, all of
+this while the President told Americans to drink breach.
+ And so today marks one year since the World Health
+Organization declared a global pandemic. Nearly 550,000 people
+have died in this country since then, many of them essential
+workers on the frontlines and their family members.
+ Unfortunately, we don't know how many of those who died
+contracted COVID-19 in the workplace. I'll grant you that. But
+as we've heard in this hearing there have been outbreaks in
+workplaces across many industries, and workplaces like at JBS
+and Smithfield Foods meat packing facilities.
+ And we've seen companies take retaliatory actions against
+workers who raise safety concerns around COVID-19. In my home
+State of New York, we saw an incident in which an employee at
+an Amazon fulfillment center was fired for demanding better
+protections.
+ That's the previous administration's record on workplace
+safety in the pandemic. And most Americans understand we need
+that to change. We need OSHA to issue an enforceable standard
+to ensue people can be safe at work because the problem sir,
+with voluntary guidelines is that there are too few volunteers.
+And so with my time remaining I'll ask Miss Muhindura you know
+my district has around 20,000 nurses, many of whom have had to
+deal with the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic as you have
+described it.
+ Can you briefly tell me about the nurses you work with. Who
+are these people?
+ Ms. Muhindura. Yes Congressman Jones. Thank you so much for
+the question. I work in level one trauma which is obviously the
+highest traumas around the Kansas City area. And I have the
+privilege of working with some of the most amazing nurses that
+I have ever met.
+ Some of the strongest people I have ever met, physically
+and emotionally, but we have all been affected by this, by
+taking care of these patients because it's taken a tremendous
+toll on us.
+ Mr. Jones. Thank you. You all deserve recognition for your
+incredible work on the frontlines, and Madam Chair I yield
+back.
+ Ms. Adams.
+ [Silence.]
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Madam Chair I believe I'm next up in the
+line. Do you mind if I go ahead and start? Dr. Adams I believe
+you're muted.
+ Ms. Adams. Am I unmuted now?
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Yes ma'am.
+ Ms. Adams. OK. I apologize. I'm having some technical
+difficulties. Mr. Cawthorn go ahead, you're recognized sir.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Thank you very much ma'am. So to all the
+witnesses I genuinely appreciate all of you coming on. Mr. Rath
+I really thank you for everything that you've done, and also
+I've been--my life has been saved more times by nurses than it
+has by doctors, so I genuinely appreciate all the nurses that
+are on and representing.
+ Mr. Rath I've got a question for you. In your testimony you
+State that if OSHA had adopted strict standards on any of these
+issues in an emergency temporary standard a year ago, that
+these requirements would have quickly become antiquated by
+science, dismissed by the public, and that it would discredit
+the agency as you said.
+ So that's the end of the quote, but you know we've hard a
+lot about science regarding preventing COVID-19 transmission.
+Chairwoman Adams in an eloquent opening Statement she said we
+can't properly respond to this pandemic unless we truly
+understand all of the data.
+ And so I'm wondering in your view what is the appropriate
+role of science in informing regulatory policy? More
+specifically, how do statutes such as the Administrative
+Procedural Act, you know, which governs the procedure--the
+process by which Federal agencies develop and issue regulations
+allow for related input when regulations are proposed. As we
+know science changes very often.
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question Representative
+Cawthorn. The process of developing a rule at OSHA should start
+with sound data and the best available evidence. But that is
+merely the starting point.
+ All OSHA regulations have to start with the best available
+evidence and be alloyed with traditional rulemaking principles
+such as technical feasibility, economic feasibility, the impact
+on small businesses, consideration of flexible options in
+rulemaking, and then finally the experience and acquired wisdom
+of the stakeholder community, employee representatives,
+employers.
+ The scientific community and the healthcare community all
+can play a part in hammering out a better and more workable,
+and more effective standard at the end of the process that
+starts with science.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Mr. Rath thank you for that answer. But just
+to get a little more detail, is there a way that OSHA can be
+utilizing the information that's on the ground? You know I
+always, the reason why I love State government so much more
+than the Federal Government is you know it's closer to where
+the actual information is.
+ And I believe the information, the decisions are coming
+from where the information lies. I think that it works better
+for every single industry that OSHA touches. Is that something
+that's possible to have OSHA receiving that input, you know,
+and the new scientific guidelines, and then to be flexible with
+it?
+ Mr. Rath. Yes. There's no question that OSHA has used
+guidance's over the past year and issued a number of helpful
+Statements for the employer community that have adopted the
+evolving science. They refer specifically to the Centers for
+Disease Control and Prevention Guidance, which has been even
+more frequently updated.
+ And by that method employers have looked to the CDC's
+guidance to figure out what the best practices in their unique
+workplaces should be.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Fantastic. Well Mr. Rath thank you very much
+and all the witnesses. I do appreciate it. With that Madam
+Chair I yield back.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. I want to recognize Miss
+Stevens from Michigan. You're recognized five minutes ma'am.
+ Ms. Stevens. Thank you Madam Chair and thank you to our
+witnesses for this critical hearing and part of why I'm so
+delighted to be on this subcommittee under the great leadership
+of Chair Adams.
+ You might have seen last year, actually almost a year ago,
+it might have been 53 weeks ago, 53 or 54 weeks ago, I did a
+letter to the agencies asking for an interagency task force to
+report the real time, scientific guidelines as we were getting
+them right, with a novel virus to be communicated through the
+you know, the Secretary of HHS, the communications to our
+employers and employees right.
+ A year ago this week. I'm with my chief of staff. This is
+the last time we were all fully in the office, and I said I
+have got to call the grocery stores, because all of a sudden
+they're an essential workplace, you know, they're like our
+general stores. Do they have what they need?
+ So just commending the work around the enforceable
+standards, an interagency approach. Part of what today's
+hearing is doing is not only coming up with strategies to
+protect essential workers from COVID-19, but it's also helping
+us think through what we do the next time a novel Coronavirus
+hits.
+ So Dr. Marr, you know, we've seen oh brother, you know some
+States recently lift their mask requirements all right. And
+last week, you know, the Retail Industry Leaders Association,
+you know they released a press Statement opposing the lifting
+of mask mandates stating that relaxing common sense, non-
+intrusive, safety protocols like wearing masks is a mistake.
+ We see some friction with the private sector in some of
+these States that are lifting the mask mandates a little bit
+prematurely. But Dr. Marr just for the record, can you share
+who is going to be most impacted by the removal of these
+requirements at this stage that we're at in the pandemic if you
+don't mind please?
+ Dr. Marr. Absolutely. There is no question that mask
+mandates work or universal masking works. This has been shown
+in many scientific studies. It's hard to point to individual
+cases, but we can analyze population level data and showing
+that there is a decrease in the rate of number of cases with
+mask, greater masking.
+ The real victims of lifting of these mandates are the
+people who are going to contract COVID-19, some of whom will
+die, and because of the lifting of this, we're going to have
+more cases and more deaths than we would otherwise, besides
+bringing tragedy to the families of those who died, this also
+places an additional burden on our already exhausted healthcare
+workers.
+ Ms. Stevens. Yes. And so would you say this has an effect
+on the safety of workers who are in frequent contact with the
+public for 8 or more hours a day? I just recently had a grocery
+store worker share with me you know they're in contact with
+somewhere between 500 and 1,000 customers on a daily basis.
+ Do you have anymore information on the safety of workers
+who are in contact with the public for eight or more hours a
+day?
+ Dr. Marr. Sure. These individual interactions are brief in
+time, so they may not fall under the 15 minute rule for contact
+tracing, but they add up. And so over that 8 to 12 hour
+workday, the grocery store worker can be in contact. And we
+know with aerosols you don't need to be close to that person.
+ So masks are effective as source control reducing the
+amount of virus that people release into the air. They may not
+know that they're sick. If people are not wearing masks that
+could happen, and workers could be exposed. I'm worried about
+the workers who will now be exposed to much greater amounts of
+virus in the air than before if they lift the mask--if the mask
+mandate is lifted.
+ Ms. Stevens. Right, right, right, because it's with our
+droplets. OK. So noted for the record. And you know Dr.
+Michael's we were hearing from Mr. Rath his testimony casting
+doubt on whether the OSHA ETS would reduce the number of work-
+related illnesses and deaths. I know we've kind of been
+covering this in this testimony here in this hearing, and all
+of you are fabulous by the way, Pascaline you're just shining
+today. We're glad to have you and your fabulous background here
+as well.
+ But Dr. Michaels, do you think that an ETS would have a
+benefit of reducing infections during the 180 day efficacy
+period? Can we just say it again for the record.
+ Dr. Michaels. Of course. You know this idea of going
+through the long OSHA administrative procedure makes no sense
+in an emergency. We need to do this now. We need to do it you
+know, six months ago. But it will clearly make a difference
+because while not all employers are as exemplary as Mr. Rath's
+clients, it will impact millions of employers and reduce
+exposure to many millions of workers and will save lives.
+ Ms. Stevens. Thank you. And I yield back Madam Chair.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. Is Miss Steel of
+California, a young lady from California you're recognized.
+ Ms. Steel. Thank you Chairwoman Adams and all the witnesses
+today. Independently owned small businesses, including retail
+and restaurants are the backbone of our local communities.
+There are more than 22,000 small employer businesses in Orange
+County in California.
+ These businesses employ more than 183,000 people and
+generate almost 10 billion dollars in payroll for our
+community. These business owners and employees that are working
+hard to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and trying their best to
+keep their employees safe and employed.
+ But prolonged lockdowns have led to almost 50 percent of
+small businesses throughout the State of California at risk of
+closing, or never reopening. We need to work in collaboration
+with local businesses and hear their stories, not rush to
+implement one-size-fits-all OSHA regulations that could halt
+the safe re-openings that are already in process.
+ We need to empower our communities and help businesses
+thrive while also keeping customers and employees safe. That is
+why I have worked on the Fresh Air for Business Act to empower
+businesses to modernize their ventilation systems in order to
+reduce the transmission of airborne diseases including COVID-
+19.
+ Having set that Mr. Rath, thank you very much for coming
+out today. You mentioned how businesses in southern California
+were impacted when Cal OSHA hastily approved an emergency plan
+where stakeholders were preventing from weighing in and making
+the standard more workable or effective. We have both seen how
+local California business owners have been affected by Cal OSHA
+compliance.
+ So should the Federal Government rush misguided actions
+that could have long-lasting, unintended consequences to
+employers and employees, just rush burdensome standards?
+ Mr. Rath. Thank you for that question Representative Steel.
+Had California taken into account the feedback from the
+stakeholder community, employees and employers, they would have
+avoided unnecessary mistakes. For example, the California
+Emergency Temporary Standard imposes upon employers the duties
+that are traditionally associated with public health agencies
+like contract tracing, continuous testing, and paid leave,
+housing, transportation.
+ These kinds of mistakes could have been avoided. And since
+then the California OSHA has issued three revisions to its
+frequently asked questions, several press releases, fact
+sheets, to try and clarify ambiguities or Statements that they
+have made in their original emergency temporary standard that
+they quickly came to regret as having been poorly thought out.
+ Ms. Steel. So in your opinion, what does government have to
+do when we have you know, some emergency situations such as
+COVID-19.
+ Mr. Rath. Well I think it's important to solicit the input
+from those with real experience, employee groups, employees,
+employee representative groups like the ones that Ms. Muhindura
+is a member of. The scientific community like Dr. Marr, and of
+course the agencies have a particular role to play as well.
+ But collectively, that input will fashion a better set of
+policies than an agency unilaterally driving policy by self.
+ Ms. Steel. So you think that it's going to be really
+helpful that you know, you prepare for this kind of pandemic,
+hopefully not in the future, but prepare those professional
+people just grouped together, and just to all get ready for the
+next pandemic or COVID-19, something like that coming in.
+ Mr. Rath. I think that there has been a tremendous amount
+of experience and knowledge and wisdom acquired in the
+workplace community that can contribute to being better
+prepared for the next pandemic should one ever develop.
+ Ms. Steel. I really appreciate it. Madam Chair I yield
+back.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. I think if all committee
+Members have asked their questions, I believe they have, I want
+to now recognize Mr. Courtney of Connecticut.
+ Mr. Courtney. Thank you Chairwoman Adams, and thank you for
+again bringing H.R. 1195 onto this agenda again as Dr. Michaels
+indicated, this is the bill that we passed in the House last
+year by a rather healthy bipartisan majority, 251 votes in
+favor, again that dealt with what was then described as an
+epidemic by the CEO of the Mayo Clinic, namely Workplace
+Violence for Healthcare Workers and Social Workers.
+ Just a month ago we had another terrible tragic incident
+that took place in Buffalo, Minnesota where a disgruntled
+patient showed up at Alliance Health Clinic, shot dead one of
+the healthcare employees and three others were critically
+injured. Again, with no sort of early warning systems or
+measures in place, which OSHA had developed as voluntary
+guidelines for many, many years.
+ But again, because we don't have a national standard, are
+just not being implemented. Ms. Muhindura again, thank you for
+your testimony today. Again, your organization has been a
+staunch advocate for workplace violence protections. And I was
+wondering if you could take a moment to talk about this other
+epidemic that again people who are going to work every day in
+the caring professions face.
+ Ms. Muhindura. Yes, thank you so much Congressman Courtney
+for the question. As nurses we've faced workplace violence for
+many years. Luckily, I'm part of a union that has fought very
+hard for the nurses and we have gained a lot of protection
+simply because of the advocacy that we can get through our
+union.
+ We have such things as panic buttons in our hospitals we
+can push if we have a violent intruder, or just a patient that
+becomes violent suddenly, and security is able to respond
+quickly. But unfortunately, not everyone has these protections
+throughout the country.
+ I used to work for a hospital that was not part of a union,
+and they had no such protections. And to add to that it feels
+like violence has gotten worse in the past year. You see an
+increase in anxiety and agitation in patients with COVID
+related to the strict isolation. So I feel like we could
+definitely use some more protection.
+ Mr. Courtney. Thank you for that because again there is
+some narrative well you know, because patient volume may have
+gone down because of elective procedures that you know, the
+workplace violence issue has diminished, but in fact we've seen
+surveys that unfortunately, it continues unabated just like the
+incident that I just mentioned.
+ Dr. Michaels you know last year or 2 years ago when we
+debated this bill, you know we were assured, and I think in
+good faith by opponents of the bill that the Trump
+administration was moving forward with a rulemaking process.
+And unfortunately, every single initial hearing was postponed
+four consecutive times.
+ We are absolutely at ground zero in terms of any movements
+within the agency. Again Mr. Rath to his credited, note that
+OSHA moves slowly. And unfortunately, we're talking about life
+or death issues in terms of protecting people in healthcare
+institutions and social work.
+ Again I wonder if you could just sort of talk about that,
+about whether you know given the gravity of this issue of
+workplace violence, as well as the pandemic, you know, whether
+or not you know we can just rely on the normal rulemaking
+process to do anything in a remotely timely fashion.
+ Dr. Michaels. Well these are exactly the right points
+Representative Courtney. OSHA takes 10 years or more to issue a
+standard. One of the last things I did when I was running OSHA
+was accept a petition from the National Nurses United, and from
+other unions telling OSHA, asking OSHA to move forward on this
+because the problem was so severe.
+ The stories we heard were heartbreaking. We cried at
+meetings when you heard what happened to healthcare workers and
+social service workers. But without Congress setting a
+deadline, it will take at least ten years for OSHA to get this
+thing out. That's the normal route.
+ I mean we've already lost years and years because really
+nothing happened during the Trump administration. They said
+that it was going to move forward but it didn't. And for your
+bill which gives OSHA 42 months to get it done, would be a huge
+step forward and really make a difference. It would make the
+lives better of nurses and others who provide this important
+work, but also it would make healthcare and social services
+better because people can't work if they're under threat of
+assault.
+ Everybody I talk to that works in an emergency room says
+yes, it impacts you when you're always looking around to make
+sure no one is going to hit you. I mean this is just simple
+common sense, and OSHA standard would not be one-size-fits-all.
+It would say figure out how to address the problem in your
+community, in your workplace, and that's what we really badly
+need.
+ Mr. Courtney. Thank you. And thank you to all the
+witnesses. I yield back.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you Mr. Courtney. I want to remind my
+colleagues that pursuant to committee practice, materials for
+submission for the hearing record must be submitted to the
+Committee Clerk within 14 days following the last day of the
+hearing, so by the end of business, the close of business on
+March 25, 2021.
+ Preferrable in Microsoft Word format. The material
+submitted must address the subject matter of the hearing. Only
+a Member of the subcommittee, or an invited witness may submit
+materials for inclusion in the hearing record. Documents are
+limited to 50 pages each, and documents longer than 50 pages
+will be incorporated into the record via an internet link that
+you must provide to the Committee Clerk within the required
+timeframe, but please recognize that in the future that link
+may no longer work.
+ Pursuant to House rules and regulations, items for the
+record should be submitted to the Clerk electronically by
+emailing submissions to [email protected].
+ Member offices are encouraged to submit materials to the
+inbox before the hearing or during the hearing at the time the
+Member makes the request. Now I want to again thank the
+witnesses for their participation today. Members of the
+subcommittee may have some additional questions for you, and we
+ask the witnesses to please respond to those questions in
+writing.
+ The hearing record will be held open for 14 days in order
+to receive those responses. I remind my colleagues that
+pursuant to committee practice, witness questions for the
+hearing record must be submitted to the Majority Committee
+Staff, or Committee Clerk within 7 days.
+ The questions submitted must address the subject matter of
+the hearing. I want to recognize now the distinguished Ranking
+Member for his closing Statement.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you Madam Chair. I ask unanimous consent
+to place into the record a Statement from the American Hospital
+Association and letters from the Construction Industry Safety
+Coalition and the National Retail Federation raising concerns
+with the potential OSHA emergency temporary standard on COVID-
+19.
+ Ms. Adams. For.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you. The American economy is diverse, and
+it would be naive for us to believe that broad mandates handed
+down from Washington, DC could ever accurately represent every
+workplace throughout the country. If we want to have a
+conversation about that, about what is best for our businesses
+and workers, then it only makes sense for them to be brought
+into the fold as part of the discussion.
+ I suspect the last thing Main Street America needs right
+now is more bureaucratic red tape and barriers dictating how to
+properly keep their workplaces and teams safe. I appreciate the
+majority calling this hearing and look forward to engaging with
+my colleagues on the other side of the aisle about how we can
+work together on smart policies that properly consider the
+realities of America's workplaces. Thank you and I yield back.
+ Ms. Adams. Thank you very much.
+ I now recognize myself for the purpose of making my closing
+Statement. What we heard today is that our Nation's workers
+need and deserve updated CDC guidance and a strong OSHA
+emergency temporary standard that reflect the best science.
+This committee has flagged the importance of considering
+airborne transmission of the virus in a March 1, 2021 letter to
+the administration. I ask unanimous consent to enter the letter
+into the record. So ordered. We have only recently emerged from
+a year of national crisis where OSHA, the only Federal agency
+with the authority to enforce safe working conditions left
+workers on their own. This was not just disappointing, this was
+a tragedy for tens of thousands of workers in this country, and
+their families who were infected by COVID-19, and the thousands
+who died preventable deaths because they lacked adequate
+protections on the job.
+ Swift action to protect workers is exactly how the
+architects of the Occupational Safety and Health Act envision
+OSHA's response during a work-related crisis. The Act tells
+OSHA that it shall issue an emergency temporary standard if it
+determines workers are exposed to a grave danger, or from new
+hazards and that a standard is necessary to protect workers
+from that hazard.
+ Now I think it's clear that COVID-19 meets these two legal
+conditions. We welcome the Biden administration's clearly
+Stated intention to act on that emergency authority. We also
+urge the administration to focus its efforts on a national
+strategy to ensure that vaccination of essential workers is
+prioritized, not only in principle, but that every effort is
+made to ensure that needles enter their arms as soon as
+possible.
+ Furthermore, in order to learn the lessons of this pandemic
+and ensure the safety of workers in the next pandemic, all
+relevant agencies of the Federal Government need to put their
+heads together to develop a way to quantify the impact of
+COVID-19 on this Nation's work force.
+ And finally OSHA cannot effectively carry out its mission
+without resources. The number of inspectors is recovering from
+a record low. The number of safety and health complaints has
+piled up, and the backlog of whistleblower claims is daunting.
+The American Rescue Plan Act, H.R. 1319 passed by Congress
+yesterday sent to President Biden for his signature provides
+200 million dollars to the Department of Labor for worker
+protection activities related to COVID-19.
+ Not less than half that amount, 100 million is directed to
+OSHA to meet this moment. I'd like to thank all of my
+colleagues in the House and Senate for making that happen. And
+I want to thank the witnesses again for their testimony. If
+there's no further business without objection the subcommittee
+stands adjourned.
+ [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ [Whereupon, at 12:48 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
+
+ [all]
+