The publication is reproduced in full below:
RETIREMENT OF JORDAN BARAB FROM THE EDUCATION AND LABOR COMMITTEE
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HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the service of Jordan Barab who served as the senior health and safety advisor to the Education & Labor Committee after serving in senior positions in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in two different Administrations. When Jordan announced his retirement from the Committee, Members of the Committee expressed deep appreciation for the expertise he imparted to the U.S. House of Representatives, especially when we were confronted with the spread of COVID-19.
Jordan's experience working to enhance protections for healthcare workers during the H1N1 flu epidemic--when he led the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health during the Obama Administration--informed his counsel to the Committee and Congress to have OSHA develop an Emergency Temporary Standard to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. That expertise was also helpful to the Commonwealth of Virginia which became the first state to develop its own emergency temporary standard to protect workers from COVID-19. As a result, other states had a model with which to follow suit.
Jordan also worked with Representative Joe Courtney (CT) to advance legislation requiring health care and social service employers to implement plans to prevent workplace violence in the House-passed bipartisan Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195). He made sure that public employees in states without OSHA protections received workplace violence protections through Medicare. He also worked with Representative Judy Chu (CA) on legislation to provide OSHA protections for workers from heat stress.
Over the decades, Jordan has been at the forefront of our nation's efforts to make sure workers come home safely from their job every day. He was a key leader in efforts to seek stronger worker protections regarding bloodborne pathogens, tuberculosis, and ergonomic hazards. Jordan also worked for five years to develop safety recommendations to prevent catastrophic chemical accidents at the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigations Board (CSB), as well as nearly two decades as Assistant Director of Research for Health and Safety with the American Federation of State Municipal and County Employees (AFSCME).
In his earlier work with the Committee, under the leadership of Chairman George Miller (CA), Jordan focused on legislation to prevent combustible dust fires and explosions--an issue brought into sharp focus following the 2008 dust explosion which killed 14 and left over 40 injured at a sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia. Jordan was the lead staffer into the investigations and legislation to prevent the obliteration of workers' lungs from the inhalation of a flavoring chemical used in popcorn called diacetyl. Jordan also examined the underreporting of injuries and illnesses, a practice that undermines effective workplace safety.
Jordan's dedication to the safety of workers has spanned across the Committee, OSHA, CSB, AFSCME and the labor movement. There is no question that there are many workers who avoided injury or illness because of workplace safety improvements that came about because of Jordan's work. He remains a trusted advisor--and may not easily escape our inquiries when we have questions.
On behalf of workers, their families, and the people of the country, I thank Jordan Barab for his service to the public and lasting contribution to workplace safety.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 108
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