Senate committee approves Obama’s OSHA nominee

By Lisa Mascaro

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 | 2:20 p.m.

WASHINGTON - After months of scrutiny and delay, a Senate committee today approved the Obama administration's nominee for OSHA director.

David Michaels, a professor at George Washington University's School of Public Health and a former Energy Department official, must still be approved by the full Senate.

Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, urged swift passage, noting the challenges facing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

During his tenure at the Energy Department, Michaels was one of the architects of the program to compensate Cold War-era nuclear weapons workers, including those at the Nevada Test Site, who developed diseases associated with radiation exposure and other occupational hazards.

Federal OSHA officials in the Obama administration have been strictly monitoring Nevada OSHA after the Las Vegas Sun documented construction deaths during the building boom on the Strip.

Supporters say Michaels would be an advocate for robust worker safety laws and enforcement at OSHA, but detractors say his views are extreme and unfriendly to business.

If approved, Michaels would take over for acting director Jordan Barab, who has led OSHA's investigation into deficiencies in Nevada OSHA's program and outlined changes OSHA must make to improve its oversight of worker safety following 25 workplace fatalities.