Unanimous Consent Request--S. 3677

Floor Speech

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Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I want to also join in commending Senators Murray, Schumer, and Hassan. I am proud to be a part of this effort to make sure that children, from early childhood education to lifelong learning, are able to continue and not fall behind. It is critical that we act on this legislation.

I rise to speak to another measure that has gone undebated in this body. It underlies the reopening of our economy, including K-12 education and many other activities. In fact, I started working on this legislation with Senator Duckworth when it was only essential workers who were reporting to work every day, but now, as we reopen, it is so required.

As our Nation battles an ongoing and deadly pandemic, thousands of American workers have been on the job from the start, keeping our economy running and keeping people safe. They are healthcare workers, food service and grocery store workers, warehouse workers, transportation workers, and all those working on the frontlines every day to confront this pandemic.

Today, even as coronavirus cases continue to rise, many States have already reopened businesses and restaurants, calling more and more people back to work to serve their community. More than 125,000 Americans, including tens of thousands of frontline workers, have died, and these numbers are rising every single day. Yet there is no Federal enforceable standard in place to protect American workers from getting infected with or spreading COVID-19.

I have heard from a nurse in Wisconsin who is having to ration personal protective equipment, or PPE, and wear the same mask for 3 weeks or longer.

I have heard from a grocery store worker in Racine who says their store still lacks basic protections like protective plexiglass partitions.

I have heard from a meatpacking plant worker in Green Bay, WI, who still has to stand shoulder to shoulder with colleagues on the plant floor rather than standing 6 feet apart.

The lack of basic protections are putting Wisconsin workers at risk.

I have repeatedly called on the Trump administration to take action. The Department of Labor and OSHA, the agency in charge of protecting workplace safety and health, need to establish protections that aren't voluntary guidance but are mandatory standards.

OSHA has the authority to issue an emergency temporary standard if employees are exposed to grave danger from new hazards, but this administration has done nothing but recommend voluntary guidelines to workplaces. Voluntary recommendations are not binding, and OSHA currently has no enforceable standard to protect workers from airborne infectious diseases, leaving the Nation's workers at an elevated risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Voluntary compliance is not enough when hundreds of thousands of American lives are on the line.

Now, some businesses are voluntarily making the necessary investments to keep their workers safe, but without a mandatory Federal requirement, businesses doing the right thing are left at a comparative disadvantage.

We cannot combat this pandemic if we do not take immediate action to protect workers.

Months ago, as I said, I introduced legislation with Senator Duckworth to protect U.S. workers from COVID-19 in response to disturbing and widespread reports of unsafe workplaces leading to preventable illnesses and deaths.

The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue emergency temporary standards that establish a legal obligation for all workplaces to implement comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plans and keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This legislation passed the House of Representatives more than 6 weeks ago as part of the HEROES Act, but Leader McConnell has buried this bill in his legislative graveyard.

This legislation is the single best way to require all workplaces to protect the health and safety of their workers and to prevent additional outbreaks and further spread of the coronavirus. It is not enough just to say ``thank you'' and label our frontline workers heroes. We need to create a safe workplace so that these heroes can continue to do their heroic work.

Congress can take immediate action right now to require workplaces and employers to put enforceable standards in place to protect their workers. We can and we should do more in this country to do right by our workers. That is why I am asking right now for unanimous consent to pass my COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act.

3677, the COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act of 2020; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

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Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I am very disappointed. I think this is one of the most critical actions that our country could take in the face of this pandemic that has created so much havoc in our economy and has also has taken too many precious souls from us.

I would state this on examination of this bill: It is not, in fact, a one-size-fits-all. If there is any agency anywhere that has the wherewithal to promulgate an emergency temporary standard, and, ultimately, after 24 months a permanent standard, it is the Department of Labor and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The failure of leadership that this administration--as in OSHA--is not doing its job is unfathomable to me. But I believe that it sits in the best position to issue an emergency temporary standard and protect our workers and customers and students and patients who necessarily interact with these workers. I am disappointed. But, again, we will continue to press this issue until every worker does have these protections.

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