i thank the gentleman from ohio for yielding me this time , and i appreciate the leadership that he has presented to this congress on making america more competitive in the world economy . 
mr. speaker , this week , congress embarks on an important agenda to make america more competitive in the global marketplace . 
over the next several weeks , the house will pass significant legislation as part of the republican congress ' competitiveness agenda . 
globalization is not something we can ignore , nor is it something we can stop . 
as thomas friedman says in his book , the world is flat , globalization is a reality of our world today . 
how congress deals with this reality will determine whether america remains the dominant economic superpower or whether we are relegated to a second-class economy . 
america 's businesses and workers have the skills and talent to compete and succeed in the global economy when given the opportunity to succeed . 
unfortunately , over the past 40 years , congress has constructed barriers to competitiveness . 
this institution now has a responsibility to break down these barriers and allow workers and businesses to prosper . 
this week of the competitiveness agenda is dedicated to eliminating bureaucratic red tape . 
over the years , regulation after regulation has been levied upon our businesses , hindering their growth and development . 
some of these regulations have proved helpful , but far too often these policies work simply to constrain our businesses from effectively competing and thereby keeping our workers from earning the best wages and benefits . 
osha is an excellent example of a good idea poorly executed that now hinders our businesses and workers . 
the gentleman from georgia ( mr. norwood ) xz4002960 has been a leader in the fight to keep american businesses competitive without sacrificing workplace safety and health protections . 
the four bills that we are considering today will establish basic principles of fairness , reduce regulatory burdens and expedite administrative reviews that will increase business productivity among america 's small businesses . 
i want to thank the gentleman from georgia for his vision and hard work on all these issues . 
in 1971 , osha was created to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for workers throughout the nation . 
however , the bureaucracy has led osha to develop an adversarial relationship with our small businesses , defying common sense , good government principles and congressional intent . 
in order to successfully create a safe work environment , osha must be cooperative , not confrontational or punitive . 
people who own and operate businesses do not want dangerous workplaces or injured workers . 
they want to do the right thing , and osha should be there as a guide and resource , cooperatively working for a safer work environment . 
unfortunately , this is simply not what is happening with osha . 
this is particularly true in the residential construction industry where osha seemed to unfairly target small homebuilders in sedgwick county , kansas . 
in june of 2003 , i was contacted by a group of homebuilders in wichita who were frightened by the prospect of having to stop working in order to avoid fines from osha . 
these constituents told me osha was planning to fine builders for plastic cups on stairs and for workers ' failure to wear earplugs while operating a wet vac . 
while seemingly minor issues to most of us , these fines , which some in the community claimed could be as high as $ 50 , 000 , would effectively put small businesses out of business . 
while osha claimed these reports were exaggerated , there is no way i can exaggerate the impact osha 's hostility and excessive regulation can have on the still-recovering wichita economy . 
in the case of these small construction companies , osha chose surprise visits , ill-conceived compliance guidelines and an adversarial demeanor to achieve everyone 's goal of a safer , more secure workplace . 
the results were that many small contractors in my area of the country were forced to stop working in order to avoid unfair fines which could have been as high as $ 7 , 000 per infraction , no matter how insignificant . 
under this approach , osha was doing more to hurt employees than to help them , threatening the ability of the men and women of the residential construction to make a living . 
that is why i am a strong supporter of the gentleman from georgia 's osha reform legislation , including h.r. 741 . 
this is important piece of legislation would establish an independent review of osha citations . 
the american political structure is based on a system of checks and balances , federal and state , the executive , legislative and judicial branches . 
however , osha currently acts both as the prosecutor and the judge for the disposition of osha citations . 
not only is this inherently unfair and inconsistent with our political system , the structure of the occupational safety and health review commission does not live up to congressional intent . 
as the gentleman from georgia has eloquently explained , when congress established the oshrc , it was designed to be an independent judicial entity to provide proper and nonbiased review and adjudication of osha citations . 
this independent citation is critically important to the integrity and fairness of osha . 
restoring this independence will help osha and the workers it serves . 
i support the competitiveness agenda for america , and i support eliminating bureaucratic red tape , and i support the gentleman from georgia 's ( mr. norwood ) xz4002960 osha reform legislation . 
