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AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF SAFETY ENGINEERS
1800 East Oakton Street
Des Plaines, Illinois 60018-2187
847.699.2929
FAX 847.296.3769
www.asse.org
May 22, 2008
George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and its 32,000 member safety, health and environmental professionals commend you and your Administration for consistently putting in place highly competent individuals to lead the federal safety and health agencies with which our members most often interact.
During your time in office, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been ably led by John Henshaw, Jonathan Snare on an interim basis, and Edwin Foulke, Jr. Each has contributed greatly in advancing your policies with regard to workplace protections. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) was revitalized under the leadership of Carolyn Merritt, and we know such leadership will continue under recently appointed John Bresland.
Likewise, ASSE has seen a significant advancement of the mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under the creative and dedicated leadership of Dr. John Howard. Dr. Howard has been instrumental in unleashing a wealth of talent at NIOSH and helping bring together the research
and educational resources of NIOSH to the day-to-day practice of our members in workplaces across the nation.
ASSE has recently learned, however, that much of this positive legacy could be lost. We understand that CDC’s leadership will not renew Dr. Howard’s six-year appointment as NIOSH Director and that his last day as Director will be July 15. We do not know why such a highly competent leader and administrator of an agency that has been, by any measure, a success in the eyes of our members across the country and the entire safety and health community should not be reappointed. The very positive impact your Administration has had on occupational safety and health through Dr. Howard should be allowed to continue to the end and beyond this Administration. We can think of no more fitting legacy for your Administration’s success in providing leadership in occupational safety and health than by allowing Dr. Howard to continue in this role.
Dr. Howard’s accomplishments are numerous. Much of his success has come in the heightened productivity and broadly improved involvement of NIOSH staff with the safety and health community. That has resulted in tangible results, including the most obvious –
· Greatly improved integration of the safety and health community in setting NIOSH’s research agenda as evidenced by the significantly increased involvement of our members and others in safety and health in the NORA agenda-setting process.
· Leadership in addressing the safety and health risks of emerging technologies, most notably nanotechnology. NIOSH was the first federal agency to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of leaders to address how government can work together with industry to understand possible risks to help ensure U.S. dominance in the rapidly advancing nanotechnology industry. He has also been instrumental to ensuring that this nation has a role to play on the world scene in addressing risks from emerging technologies.
· Increased accountability for NIOSH’s research programs by inviting examination through the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, thereby assuring that this nation’s investment in occupational safety and health research is well placed.
· Active outreach to safety and health practitioners like our members, bringing the research results funded through NIOSH directly to the job site where our members work. This specific effort directly benefits our members’ many employers across the nation, helping them address bottom-line business imperatives through improved worker safety and health programs.
As these accomplishments demonstrate – and like few leaders in any discipline – Dr. Howard has had the unique capability of translating a keen understanding of big picture issues into practical and meaningful programs and into individual successes among the staff that he leads. For these various reasons, ASSE respectfully urges you to ensure that Secretary Leavitt reappoints Dr. Howard as Director of NIOSH.
ASSE is a global organization representing the interests of its member occupational safety, health and environmental professionals. In every state and across the world, our members work with their employers to help see that every worker has the best possible opportunity to go home healthy and safe from their jobs each day. The Society is the largest professional safety organization and, founded in 1911, has been in existence the longest.
Thank you for your attention to our concern. We look forward to being able to work with Dr. Howard beyond July 15.
Sincerely,
Michael W. Thompson, CSP
President
cc: The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Sixth Floor
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
The Honorable Johnny Isakson
United States Senate
SR-120 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Howard P. McKeon
U.S. House of Representatives
2351 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Melissa S. Bennett
Deputy Assistant to the President and
Director of Presidential Appointments
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500