On the one hand, I deal with OSHA. That is my purview. I’m not normally concerned with what other agencies do. On the other hand, when one federal agency is allowed to skate on process, other agencies often follow.

  On Thanksgiving eve, the Obama Administration released 3400 new regulations under the “Clean Air Act”. These are regulations that did not have public hearings or seek input from within the industry.

  When an agency proposes several new regulations, it causes industry experts to pour over every line of the new policy. When a federal agency releases thousands of regulations in the dark of night, it is done to ensure the normal public process is short-changed. Congress is still learning the fall-out from the Affordable Care Act. This will be no different.

  To my knowledge, none of the new regulations impact OSHA. Yet, what happens at one agency sets a precedent that could spread to other agencies. How difficult would it be to give a cursory review to 3000 plus regulations? It is impossible, be it for the climate industry under the “Clean Air Act” or for the workplace safety industry. Regardless of how you feel about “climate change,” this is no way to tackle the issue.

  In this case, Congress gave the EPA exemptions from public hearings and even from congressional reviews. Why would they do that? I don’t know the answer. I think the job of congressional overview is more than they can handle. I think they reach out to industry experts on both sides of an issue. Invariably, one side gets the short end.

  Agencies should carry out rules that are made by Congress. The system was never designed for an agency to make the rules. That is exactly what is happening with amnesty, healthcare, and now climate control. It has not impacted OSHA. In time, it surely will.