In a setback for small-business owners, the House defeated a provision that would have prevented

In a setback for small-business owners, the House defeated a provision that would have prevented the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from issuing standards or guidelines to deal with repetitive stress injuries. The provision would have banned the government from issuing regulations dealing with these injuries or even gathering information about them. House Republicans were pushing the measure to curtail government regulations in the workplace. Last year, House Republicans voted to back similar restrictions on OSHA. But, by the time the agency`s funding for the year finally was settled, the provision was limited to preventing the government from issuing regulations regarding repetitive stress injuries before Sept. 30. Repetitive stress injuries have increased 10-fold in the past 10 years, affecting workers who repeat the same movements for long periods of time. In other OSHA developments, a pending Labor Department appropriation-spending bill that funds OSHA would reduce the agency`s spending by 2 percent and bar OSHA from issuing proposed ergonomics standards.

Judi Hasson

Washington Correspondent