ASSE and 2014-15 President Patricia Ennis, CSP, ARM, are calling on ASSE members and the broader OSH community to contact their legislators and urge them to support the funding bills for OSHA and NIOSH. Here is the a letter from Ennis:
Can you please take a couple minutes of your time this weekend and send a letter to your representatives in Congress to encourage them to join their Senate and House colleagues in support of OSHA and NIOSH?
Over the last several years, ASSE, AIHA and NSC have made a concerted effort to work together to join the many voices of our members in supporting OSHA and NIOSH funding for Fiscal Year 2016. We may all have different views of the exact ways that OSHA should be using its resources, but the vast majority of ASSE members understand that a strong OSHA plays an important role in the overall effort of OSH professionals and their committed employers to continue to advance workplace safety and health in our nation.
And any ASSE member who I know has been involved in NIOSH understands fully that it does not have enough resources to fulfill its role as pretty much the only resource for occupational safety and health education and research funding. Most important this year is that the administration once again is proposing to eliminate support for NIOSH’s Education and Research Centers and the NORA Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing research program.
To fight for a national commitment to OSH, “Dear Colleague” letters are circulating in the House and Senate, as is a letter from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in support of NIOSH. The deadline for elected officials to sign on the letters is Monday, March 23.
Please contact your elected officials to encourage them to sign on to the letters. The National Safety Council has created separate advocacy alerts for the NIOSH and OSHA “Dear Colleague” letters. By clicking on the alerts , you can easily identify your elected officials and send them customizable letters in a matter of minutes.
Thank you for contributing your voice.
Sincerely,
Patricia M. Ennis, CSP, ARM
2014-15 ASSE President
