During a June 24 House Committee on Education and Labor hearing focusing on OSHA's role in enforcing construction safety rules, legislators and industry experts questioned whether the agency is doing everything possible to improve safety at construction sites.

"There's no question that construction is an inherently dangerous job, and there's no one who would argue with that," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the committee. "The question is whether more can be done to prevent accidents and make the industry safer."

During his testimony, OSHA Administrator Edwin Foulke Jr. explained that the agency works to keep construction workers safe through enforcement, outreach and education. He pointed out that in FY 2007, more than half all planned federal and state OSHA inspections were conducted in the construction industry, and these inspections resulted in 74,816 citations. Since 2001, the agency issued 256 penalties in the construction industry with fines exceeding $100,000.

"During the same period, OSHA has made 64 criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, which is more than any other administration," Foulke added.