madam speaker , i am proud to support and cosponsor all four of these important pieces of legislation on osha reform .  each is an integral step to come to the aid of our small businesses .  not only are our small businesses increasingly faced with greater competition from the bigger competitors in the u.s. but also are they faced with greater competition from across the globe .  the last thing they need are unnecessary and burdensome regulations from their own government .  according to a study discussed in the office of management and budget 's `` draft report to congress on the costs and benefits of federal regulations for 2005 , '' it is estimated that the , quote , total cost of federal regulation , environmental , workplace , economic and tax compliance regulation , was 60 percent greater per employee for firms with under 20 employees compared to firms with over 500 employees .  in another recent study , these costs translate to approximately $ 7 , 000 in regulatory costs per employee per year .  we need to aid our small businesses in being more competitive , not help force them out of business .  certainly the goals of the occupational safety and health agency to ensure workplace safety and health are laudable and protecting our workers is and must remain paramount .  but oftentimes good intentions do not result in the best practices .  our small businesses and our workers deserve better .  h.r. 739 , the first of four bills that we are considering today , promotes fairness for small businesses while improving competition and worker safety .  it allows the occupational safety and health review commission more flexibility to make exceptions to the 15-day deadline when employers must file appeals to osha citations .  many of our small businesses unintentionally and innocently miss this arbitrary deadline and can be denied their day in court as a result .  while many of our small businesses are struggling to provide their employees with the safest work environments and access to the best health care and other benefits , they must comply with inflexible regulations such as these .  many small businesses that have unintentionally missed this deadline are simply not able to navigate the complex regulations in order to appeal the osha citation .  in january of this year , even the department of labor agreed that this deadline is too burdensome and decided it would allow the occupational safety and health review commission to have discretion over the 15-day deadline for filing appeals .  this was welcome news for small businesses .  now , all we need to do is codify this provision .  we are certainly not advocating that every small business be given a pass on this deadline to respond to a citation , but let us be reasonable here and give them the benefit of the doubt by instilling just a little bit more flexibility into these regulations .  let me also mention these three other bills , h.r. 740 , h.r. 741 and h.r. 742 , that we are debating this afternoon .  expanding the review board for appeals cases to osha from three to five commissioners would speed up the appeals process so small businesses will have their cases reviewed in a timely manner .  h.r. 741 will restore the original practice and congressional intent to ensure that the occupational safety and health review commission , or the court , will be the party to interpret osha regulations , not osha itself .  and finally , h.r. 742 will allow small businesses to recover the costly attorney fees incurred if they successfully challenge an osha citation .  each of these will help alleviate overbearing regulations that thwart the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses .  in past years , each of these four bills has passed the house by good margins .  let us send these provisions once again to the other side of the capitol and encourage them to act this year to help our small businesses .  jobs are at stake and a vital economy lies in the balance .  we must keep our small businesses vital , healthy , and competitive .  