madam speaker , i want to thank the gentleman from ohio ( mr. boehner )  for his leadership in the committee on education and the workforce and the fact that he has been able to pass reasonable legislation that not only helps the employee but the employer and gives us a better business atmosphere in this country .  i would also like to thank my friend and fellow georgian ( mr. norwood )  for his leadership in fine-tuning our occupational safety and health laws .  the gentleman from georgia has waged a years-long effort to improve the relationship between small businesses and the federal government 's regulatory agencies , and for that i thank him .  madam speaker , i am a small businessman .  i started my own construction business 25 years ago , and that is how i supported my family until my recent election this year to congress .  osha regulations are not just an interesting debate topic for washington dinner parties .  for me and the millions of other small business owners , they are tough rules with real consequences .  no one wants to regress to the days when workers had few rights and worked in ridiculously dangerous situations with little or no regard for their safety .  in the end , good precautions are good for workers , good for businesses , and good for the economy as a whole .  we are not keeping osha from enforcing federal safety regulations with this legislation .  we are just ensuring that regulators are fair and reasonable when enforcing regulations .  in the construction business , i worked closely with subcontractors who were small business owners themselves .  one of them , a good friend of mine , ran into trouble with osha over this very rule that we are debating today in the small business day in court act .  he and an employee were digging a hole for a septic tank .  they made a mistake during the process , and it was a mistake with horrible consequences .  the walls of the hole caved in , killing the employee .  while my friend was recuperating from and dealing with all the painful consequences that come with the death of an employee when you are a three-or four-man business , osha gave him a summons .  i think everyone would agree that during those 15 days after the accident , responding to an osha summons should not and could not be at the top of his priority list .  he missed the deadline ; and , of course , under osha rules he was not given another chance to defend himself .  this legislation will help small business owners such as this , who run small shops but who employ the vast majority of american workers .  they can not employ full-time osha compliance officers and most owners are not going to be experts on the fine print of federal regulations .  when it comes to our nation 's job producers , we should not be tying their hands .  we should be giving them a hand up .  i urge my colleagues to support this legislation , h.r. 739 .  