Bills to Codify VPP Still Pending
They were introduced in April 2011 and continue to pick up co-sponsors, said Sanna Raza, VPPPA's senior director of Communications & Outreach.
VPPPA welcomed a former OSHA senior leader on July 11 when Steve Witt joined the association as senior advisor. He advises the Office of the Executive Director and the National VPPPA Board of Directors on major policy issues concerning government affairs, cooperative programs, and federal agency safety and health. He had served as director of OSHA's Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs.
A key government affairs issue for the association is pending legislation to codify VPP. Sanna Raza, the association's senior director of Communications & Outreach, said the Voluntary Protection Program Act was introduced in both chambers of Congress on April 13, 2011, with Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Landrieu, D-La., offering Senate Bill 807 and Reps. Tom Petri, R-Wis., and Gene Green, D-Texas, sponsoring House Bill 1511.
She said S.807 has secured 10 additional co-sponsors and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, while two more representatives have signed on to H.R.1511, which has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. The legislation would make VPP law and grant it budget authority, and also encourage wider participation by small businesses.