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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release September 26, 1995


VICE PRESIDENT HIGHLIGHTS NEW OSHA

AT VPPPA'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Presents Two Hammer Awards To Recognize Excellence in Safety and Health Programs


Addressing the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants Association's
(VPPPA) 11th annual conference, Vice President Gore today (9/26) said
that the Administration's new approach to regulation is a success,
bringing together government and business, labor and management to
protect worker safety and health.

"It is about working in partnership with common goals, instead of as
adversaries to protect the safety and health of our workers," the Vice
President said to VPPPA audience members comprising plant managers and
employees, industry safety and health representatives, and government
officials. "It's about focusing a lot less on red tape, and a lot more
on results. It's about moving authority and responsibility out of
Washington, out of the government, and giving it back to the people --
the people who work out where the rubber meets the road."

In February, President Clinton unveiled an Administration plan to bring
back common sense to regulation without stripping away safeguards. The
effort was part of the National Performance Review to make government
work better and cost less, an initiative headed by Vice President Gore.

As part of governmentwide regulatory reform, President Clinton called
for fundamental changes in OSHA operations from a system of
command-and-control to one that builds partnerships among regulators and
business; eliminates or fixes out-of-date and confusing standards and
identifies clear and sensible priorities; and targets the most serious
hazards and the most dangerous workplaces by insisting on results instead
of red tape.

The new national model of OSHA regulation is patterned on the successes
of programs such as the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), which is
administered by OSHA and the Department of Energy (DOE). VPP recognize
worksites for achieving excellence in their safety and health programs
through cooperation among labor, management, and the government.
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants Association (VPPPA) members
are companies or worksites that have either been approved or are pursuing
acceptance into OSHA's and DOE's protection programs.

In honor of their work to cut red tape, improve customer service, and
bring common sense back to government regulation, Vice President Gore
today also presented National Performance Review Hammer Awards to two
government workers: Cathy Oliver, the VPP manager for OSHA, and Bill
Freeman who expanded the VPP concept in the state of Maine.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Joseph
Dear said, "The Voluntary Participation Program is the premier example of
partnership between government, management and workers, and is a model for
virtually all of OSHA's reinvention initiatives. These are the companies
where you want your family, your children, your husband or wife to work."

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