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H.R.4037 / 105th Congress

To require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to recognize that electronic forms of providing Material Safety Data Sheets provide the same level of access to information as paper copies and to improve the presentation of safety and emergency information on such Data Sheets.

Received in the Senate and read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 11, 1998

Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to revise certain regulations to: (1) provide that an employer complies with a specified standard if the employer makes information on each hazardous chemical used in the workplace readily accessible (available for retrieval immediately in the case of an emergency) to employees through electronic access or other alternatives to paper copies of Material Standard Data Sheets MSDSs; and (2) require a standard format for MSDSs, including an emergency overview which warns of health and physical hazards that require immediate attention in an emergency. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the comprehensibility of specified OSHA required hazard warnings to the average industrial worker; and (2) make the resulting report available to chemical manufacturers and importers required to prepare MSDSs.

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Who introduced it

Rep. Granger, Kay [R-TX-12] · R–TX

Committees

  • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
  • Education and Workforce Committee
11 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Received in the Senate and read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

  2. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  3. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

  4. Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

  5. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate.

  6. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7008-7011)

  7. Mr. Ballenger moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

  8. Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Discharged.

  9. Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.

  10. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

  11. Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

  12. Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

  13. Introduced in House

  14. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

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Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Mar 23, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.4037 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

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Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.4037 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

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Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.4037 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

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Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.4037 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

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