Congress takes steps to halt OSHA respirator fit testing.In the final government spending Government spending or government expenditure consists of government purchases, which can be financed by seigniorage, taxes, or government borrowing. It is considered to be one of the major components of gross domestic product. bill signed by President Bush in December 2004, language was included that prohibits OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. from inspecting or citing employers for not conducting an annual fit testing of respirators used to prevent occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB). This prohibition applies to all OSHA compliance inspections, including programmed inspections, employee corn plaints and imminent danger situations. The language was offered by Rep. Roger Wicker Roger F. Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American politician and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, a position he has held since 1995. Wicker represents Mississippi's At-large congressional district, which includes much of the northern portion of (R-Miss.) and states no funds shall be used in fiscal year 2005 to administer or enforce the provisions of the general industry respiratory standard that require the annual fit testing after the initial fit testing of respirators for occupational exposure to TB. Further, the House-Senate conferees advised OSHA "to take no further action with regard to respiratory protection for occupational exposure to TB until such time as the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. ) has completed the ongoing revisions of its TB guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. ." The memorandum on TB and respiratory protection has been posted with OSHA's standard interpretation letters and can be viewed at www.osha.gov by clicking on "Interpretations." |
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