STATEMENT FROM THE GENERAL COUNSEL
I am pleased to present the accompanying Report to Congress and interested stakeholders concerning the state of occupational health and safety in the legislative branch of the United States Government.1 This Report, prepared by the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) of the Office of Compliance (OOC), principally focuses on the results of our occupational safety and health (OSH) biennial inspection during the 111th Congress and inspections conducted at the request of covered employees. As in past years, the Report also describes where our Office is concentrating its efforts during the 112th Congress. Please let us know if you have questions or would like additional information about our OSH program.
Where we are now …
This is a time of transition and challenge for both OOC and employing offices. Once each Congress since the 109th Congress, OGC safety and health specialists have conducted comprehensive inspections of legislative branch facilities throughout the Washington DC metropolitan area. These inspections, mandated by the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA),2 are the principal means by which OGC identifies and seeks to prevent the occurrence of serious health and safety hazards3 and ascertains whether such hazards are satisfactorily and timely abated by the employing offices.
Focusing mostly on hazardous structural conditions in each facility, these ―wall-to-wall‖ biennial inspections have permitted OGC to compile a comprehensive inventory of hazards to the safety and health of employees and visitors on Capitol Hill. These include electrical, fire, life safety, boilers, heaters, machine guarding and fall protection hazards. Following each building inspection, our hazard findings are transmitted to the employing offices responsible for abating these hazards; in most cases the Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is charged statutorily with responsibility for the care and maintenance of legislative branch facilities.4
