We have doubled the funding for our Susan Harwood training grants over the past four years. We've begun to explore possibilities for distance learning through the OSHA Training Institute. We've hired 44 compliance assistance specialists for our area offices who are devoting their time to helping employers get the training they need. We've expanded OSHA's capabilities. But we are just at the beginning of what we can and should do to assist employers and employees.
Many opportunities lie ahead.
OSHA seeks to become respected as much for our education as for our enforcement. Enforcement, partnerships and outreach are all critical elements of a balanced approach to occupational safety and health. However, any of these activities can be handled by other people, and in some states they are. There's's only one thing, though, that no one else can do. Federal OSHA has the unique responsibility for setting mandatory national safety and health standards for the workplace.