Mike Enzi's OSHA reform bill is not like past OSHA bills. Then again, Mike Enzi is not like other politicians. For starters, the 53-year-old Eagle Scout from Wyoming became the quickest Republican in history to win a "Golden Gavel" from his peers by presiding 100 hours over Senate debates-a decidedly unglamorous freshman chore which Enzi undertook for his own education. Enzi also holds claim to being the Senate's only accountant and only certified Human Resources Management Professional. It would be safe to bet he's also the first to have walked the exhibit floor at an American Society of Safety Engineers trade show. What makes the former shoe store operator stand out lately is his approach to writing OSHA reform legislation. In his first month on the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, Enzi says he read six years' worth of OSHA bills. Then he met in person with more than 50 contingents including labor, business, government and Democratic colleagues, trying to build consensus. Enzi introduced his "Safety & Health Advancement Act" (S. 765) in May, 1997. In June, he took his self-proclaimed "breakthrough bill" on the road, presenting it to some 1,000 safety and health professionals gathered in New Orleans for an ASSE conference. In early July, his was one of three pieces of legislation featured in the Senate's first formal OSHA reform hearing of the year.
Packed into a paneled hearing room on the fourth floor of the Dirksen Senate office building on a sunny summer afternoon, OSHA watchers witnessed Enzi in action for nearly four hours-first pitching his new bill alongside Judd Gregg (R-RI) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) (who have both introduced recycled bills that failed in the last Congress), then questioning panelists from labor, industry, and OSHA.