VPP measure poised to get bipartisan support in Congress
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday would codify the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), a safety and health program overseen by OSHA. VPP is aimed at preventing workplace injuries and fatalities while increasing productivity, employee engagement and lowering costs for companies and taxpayers.
The bipartisan Voluntary Protection Program Act (H.R. 2500) was introduced by Congressman Gene Green (D-TX), Congressman Todd Rokita (R-IN) and Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-AL), highlighting VPP's successful track record of significantly improving safety and health at thousands of worksites across the U.S., covering nearly one million employees. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that tens of millions of taxpayer dollars are saved annually through VPP, calculating government savings to be more than $59 million a year. Private sector savings total more than $300 million annually.