A quorum is present and i know for the subcommittee and from florida and michigan and texas and tennessee michiga michigan, kentucky, wisconsi michigan, kentucky, wisconsin,. Pennsylvania, mr. Johnson of south dakota and pennsylvania they all have committed to participate in todays hearing that the questions will only come after the subcommittee of workforce protections on both sides of the aisle are present either in person or via remote participation due to House Resolution 965 and the accompanying regulations and had an opportunity to question the witnesses the subcommittee is meeting today for a hearing on examining the federal governments actions to protect workers from covid19 both in the hearing room and for those members participating remotely you will be kept muted as a general rule to avoid any unnecessary background noise members will be responsible for and muting themselves when they are recognized to speak or when they seek recognition a rollcall is not necessary to establish a quorum conducted remotely or with remote participants participation is when there is the proceeding with remote participation the clerk will call the role for who was present at the start of the proceeding at this time i asked the clerk to call the role. [roll call] [roll call] let me remind all of the Committee Members please mute your microphone. Thank you. Rule seven see Opening Statement limited to the chair and the Ranking Member will hear from our witnesses to provide all members with adequate time to ask questions i recognize myself for the presence of making an Opening Statement. Today subcommittee hearing will explain the performance of the federal government to protect worker safety during the covid19 pandemic thank you to osha Deputy Assistant secretary and osha director howard for joining us today the covid19 pandemic has resulted in the workers safety crisis in the osha 50 year history nothing compares the past four months more than 62000 Healthcare Workers have risk their lives without protective equipment and have been diagnosed with covid19 and 291 have died. This is an underestimat underestimate, according to cdc these numbers are a mere fraction of the true toll to the absence of reporting of 27 states, new york city and the district of columbia. As we know infection outbreaks are not limited to Healthcare Facilities more than 17000 Meat Processing workers have been infected and estimated died 60 percent of employees tested positive at an iowa tyson plant one closed after hundreds fell ill although the plant promise to test every worker before reopening there were so many positive cases that it stopped testing and reopened anyway longtime care facilities Grocery Stores and Transportation Systems and warehouses have all experienced deadly outbreaks earlier this month the cdc reported 2770 infections and 15 deaths among staff and correctional and detention facilities late january through late april 36 percent of all infections at correctional facilities was suffered by staff at least six employees or one warehouse in new york died from covid19 129 new York City Transit workers died of the virus 1424 veterans administrations employees have been diagnosed and 31 have died. From the 2400 postal workers tested positive in six have died from covid related illnesses ups is facing an outbreak of 36 cases at its facility in tucson. As we will discuss today we dont really know because this nation has no system for collecting data on covid19 in the workplace employers are not obligated to publicly report thes infections from Government Agencies that refuse to make this information public to adverse publicity leaving the workers in public unaware with the risks they are facing we cannot lose sight of the fact this is largely a tragedy inflicted on our nation of essential workers. People who dont have a choice whether they have to go to work people who dont have a choice many are on the front lines low income workers and disproportionately people of color who dont have the luxury to work from home covid19 is a Community TragedyIowa Nebraska south dakota coronavirus cases represent about 29 percent of the states total cases respectively to the environmental working groups my home state of North Carolina leads the nation with a number of meat packing plants facing an outbreak the state department of hhs reporting at least 23 plants have operated with more than 1300 worker infections. Also the agency that this has passed to protect workers has largely been in visible failing to develop the necessary tools to combat the pandemic and to use the tools that it has and instead principally to issue a press release this hearing will focus on why that is and for the inaction. Osha still has not developed any enforceable standards that can protect workers from the airborne transmission of the coronavirus. And then those standards with respirators and ppe are in adequate and unused while the cdc and prevention can be useful and nonbinding and although osha says it uses the Enforcement Authority to protect workers its own data shows the majority of infections are conducted only after workers have died. Osha has complaint infections less than 1 percent of those filed while the secretary of labor says it does not need an emergency because osha already has the tools that it needs to enforce guidelines but the embarrassing truth is osha has not issued a single citation under the general duty clause to enforce that guidance. Not once. This crisis was clearly foreseeable and osha was warned it was clear after the swine flu in the texas disease standard was needed requiring employers and the workplace and from the beginning of the Trump Administration and that the standard was relegated to the longtime regulatory agenda where it languishes today january 1 and i joined the chairman on calling on osha to put the Infectious Disease standard back on the agenda we also urged osha to issue compliance and an emergency standard if the situation deteriorated. They were just five confirmed infections in the us at the time hearing nothing back on mah we wrote osha again how hundreds of Healthcare Workers have been exposed and stated the obvious that osha urgently needed to issue a Emergency Temporary Standard midmarch they rejected on the grounds the Healthcare Industry fully understands the gravity of the situation in the state on and taking the appropriate steps to protect workers and in april with more than 720,000 infections nationwide were finally issued enforcement guidance only covering the healthcare sector and as they continue to face risks of infection illnesses and death and then to issue temporary standards from exposure to coronavirus and to provide the Emergency Temporary Standard to determine employees are in a grave danger that this standard is necessary to protect employees from such a danger like this pandemic is the exact reason in this exist and osha continues to sit on the sidelines. My question to secretary of labor with thousands of workplace infections and deaths to take meaningful action has sent a clear message to workers across the country they are on their own. On friday may 15 the house passed a bill hr 6800 to include covid19 every Worker Protection act introduced by chairman scott and myself to direct ish osha to have an Emergency Temporary Standard for seven days to protect workers and hospitals and Retail Stores restaurants and offices and shipyards and other workplaces where a person can face risk of exposure and also prohibits employers from retaliating as we begin to reopen more are at risk of infection and if the reopening drives up infection rates they could be called to reinstate to do further damage to the economy the only conclusion i can draw is the response is more about politics and modern science and the should not be ideological notions about repealing to regulations and a new one that is created to explore and hopefully answer why there has been a lack of political will and no one is even tracking the number of workers who are getting sick and dying. Finally i feel the need to respond to two items in this testimony. First, because of the lawsuit and refusing to answer any questions about the Emergency Temporary Standard and i want to note for the record there is no legal basis and its purely a political statement. And this testimony that says the failure to issue emergency standard no one has more respect from the dedicated men and women and the staff from the hard work they do every do they and this committee as evidenced and the opposition with rollback of worker safety protection and those spacing from covid19 with professional staff but due to the unfortunate for oshas Political Leadership and now to the Ranking Member for his Opening Statement. Let me state for the record as the chairwoman is here physically present in the room the chairman of the full committee is physically present and there are 15 members of this committee nine republicans and six democrats. It is a safe environment as you can socially distance since they decided at the 11th hour to unilaterally pull off last weeks hearing my republican colleagues and i are ready to get the important work what they are doing to combat covid19 and we are here to do so today. It is unfortunate democrats decide to play politics on issues they assert is a top priority. The covid19 pandemic is an extraordinary time for all americans. Many coming out mandatory stayathome orders after two months or more people are returning to work in a new environment with the disease still relatively new and we have much to learn it affects different people in different ways many people who test positive have symptoms but a small percentage get very ill and some of them unfortunately passed away. Those to become very ill are over 65 to make up 80 percent of all deaths and those of Underlying Health conditions as listed by the cdc. And with the different types of jobs an Office Worker who doesnt interact faces a much lower risk than a nurse in the icu. And i say this to make a point about the difficulty coming up with a reliable single standard for Workplace Safety. And covid19 specifically. How did osha complex safety and Health Issues in the past . And with h1n1 influenza and osha did not issue a new standard but instead enforced existing standards and guidance that was under the general duty clause. Let me say that again. Under three separate diseases osha did not issue a standard they issued guidelines and relied upon those to enforce the general duty clause the acting assistant secretary during h1n1 which the chairwoman referred to a man named jordan in may 2009 and said osha created guidance with the appropriate work practices and the pandemic and also because safety risk at certain workplaces focus the direct efforts in a high risk exposure categories. And then to categorize workers rest to demonstrate only a small portion have the highest exposure risk level. And to specifically reference standards are in place and then the general duty clause to ensure that employers follow the practices that they are necessary to protect workers health. Included president obamas assessment as being cause for the concern but not panic what has osha done with covid19 . And then to issue detailed guidelines for high risk workplaces to categorize a workers risk and ppe and respirators sanitation and others as well as the obligations under the general duty clause for safe and healthy workplace. In addition osha and the cdc have guidance and Retail PharmacyPackage Delivery retail construction and is still working on it. There are two problems with requiring the standard. And we dont know enough information and to construct that standard in a permanent federal regulation. And then to modify as we learn from the cdc another Public Health officials and from the workplace themselves. And that burden for those struggling to reopen. Exposing to unnecessary liability. And to set that standard takes too long and it takes osha seven years to compile all the data necessary to meet all the regulatory requirements. To have that emergency act on temporary standard that must be done in seven days. And in 1983 and that was overturned because osha could not meet the statutory threshold requirements and indeed has lost more cases and then they have one for the same reason. And the bill that she created in her Office Without any consultation with the white house or the senate and we never had a hearing in this committee of jurisdiction. No regular order no effort for the bipartisan consensus this is no way to operate a challenge of this magnitude in response to the pandemic no wonder it is dead or alive i also know the aflcio forest osha to issue a standard extensive and timeconsuming litigation against for protecting the nations workers in the midst of a pandemic and very unlikely to succeed i take exception to your remarks talk about that lawsuit no lawyer let their client talk about that it is a matter that they would ask them to be careful about that and expect them not to follow their lawyers advice is unfair to them. So i was impressed, very impressed with the variance and speed osha has fashioned its response. Remember we didnt even know about this. The experience of the past pandemics i am glad they built upon this experience i have taught with hundreds of businesses to decide whether and how to reopen thats true for every member of this room. Those include a concern of the health of their employees. They canceled the cdc and with the Public Health officials and in following the osha guidance they are truly grateful for they want to provide them and it is helping them achieve that and then to help them keep the workplace safe and healthy cracks im looking forward to the testimony today and then to protect the most important part the American Economy. And then to make this country so prosperous. And then as an icu nurse i want her to be safe and healthy as she goes about her extremely important work even as we sit here taking care of the sickest. She and her colleagues deserve nothing less and then not for special interest and the wasteful litigation and the partisan legislative gains. America will get through this and those that are most vulnerable to this disease to reopen the American Economy and prosperity for all there is cause for great concern but not panic. And is the best way to go for sars, mers, h1n1, ebola, thank you and i yield back. I just want to respond for a moment obama started on an airborne disease with 100,000 dead so votes will be called the witnesses. And the members. And to those committee electronically. I first witness is the principal Deputy Assistant secretary at osha and joined and coming from this committee is a senior policy advisor for 15 years. And to handle Workplace Safety issues including osha the next witness doctor howard is the director of the National Institution for Occupational Safety and Health Doctor howard previously served as the director of the institute 2002 through 2008 and was chief of the occupational Safety Health labor and workforce development. And then we appreciate witnesses for participating. And then in the hearing record and then with your oral presentation 25 minutes with your written statement and let me remind the witnesses the us code section 10012 knowingly and willfully testify that representation and documents and that conceal the cover of material fact. Before you began your testimony press the button on the microphone in front of you so that it will enter in the members can hear you like in front of you will turn green after your five minutes please stop. And when answering a question please turn your microphone on. Thank you for the opportunity to highlight the important work of osha to protect our nations workers are part of the work this agency has done during the Trump Administration and im proud of the work it is performing right now responded to a Worldwide Health crisis. Even as we respond to this pandemic osha received 5900 complaints and based on these complaints with these infections during this time osha has received over 2300 whistleblower complaints which are evaluated along with the whistleblower complaints. Im so proud that the Health Officer is in the agencies personnel to initiate thousands of complaints and working with employers across the country to have safe and healthful working conditions. And then to provide training before and during and after the pandemic my goal is for oshas effort to prevent workers from ever becoming ill and injured because they are doing their job. The efforts to address covid19 is a top priority it quickly pivoted the guidance they need where appropriate it has enforce safety and Health Standards throughout the crisis incredible men and women are committed to carry out the mission to keep americas workers safe and heal