mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. speaker , the second bill we will debate is another narrowly-crafted bill that addresses a specific problem we found in the osha law . 
for nearly two-thirds of its 30-plus years of existence , the occupational safety and health review commission has been undermanned and unable to function properly . 
now , because a quorum of two out of the three total commissioners is needed for timely decision-making , the commission has in the past been unable to act simply because a quorum was not present . 
there are a number of reasons for this . 
the appointment process is sometimes controversial , leading to vacancies , and sometimes commissioners must recuse themselves from considering cases , meaning even if there is only one seat open , there is often no working quorum . 
for too much of its history , the commission has been unable to gain a working quorum and , as a result , is simply unable to function , despite being otherwise fully staffed . 
the occupational safety and health review commission efficiency act increases the membership of the commission from three to five members to ensure that cases are reviewed in a timely fashion . 
increasing membership to five commissioners will help ensure that cases are reviewed in a more timely fashion , improving the current system of judicial inactivity that only results in government waste . 
in short , it will allow the commission to complete its job by reducing the case backlogs that are as much as 8 years old . 
now , the commission 's sister agency , the federal mine safety and health review commission , has 5 panelists , and we have found has worked well in reviewing cases more efficiently . 
lastly , the bill permits incumbent members whose terms have expired to stay on until a replacement can be confirmed by the senate , and most vacancies occur during these turnovers . 
the u.s. economy is improving more and more , and employers are hiring new workers each and every month . 
last week , the labor department reported that 3.7 million new jobs have been created since may of 2003 . 
we want small businesses hiring more workers and contributing to our economy , not facing years of osha-related litigation if they can not resolve it simply because the commission has an endless backlog of cases . 
this bill simply ensures that osha cases are resolved in a timely and efficient manner , a goal that we all should support . 
employers who make good-faith efforts to comply with osha standards deserve to be treated fairly and have their day in court , and this measure will help ensure that they receive that opportunity . 
mr. speaker , i ask my colleagues to support the bill . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
