b"ssman: Reid Ribble (R-WI)* * * people have confidence that the government knows what it is doing.tion-everyin bipartisan fashion.are all sitting at the single oneThey Then Ito stop being a Congressman and spend time with mySenate,being voted on.Itaexperience. would likenotisfrustrating grandchildren. MR: Any comments on the interim fall protection guidelines MR: Sounds like bipartisanship is a fine line to walk.for residential construction? Yes, but it is not as fine as the media makes it out to be. The media want[I agree with MRCA Legal Counsel Gary Auman's] comment on the aso they look for the most incendiary members of Congress tounwillingness of OSHA to have awith the roofing storymeaningful dialogue go on TV and talk about things. They are waiting for someone to sayindustry regarding providing reasonable workable alternatives for something stupid orto make TV entertaining.Itintoresidential roofers. Ithat an accurate statement. outlandishplaysfind their storyline about how dysfunctional things are, when inInot found OSHA to be particularly receptive when I fact therehavehave are many thoughtful members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.written them letters and worked to hold them accountable. MR: How have you done that?OSHA My big problem with that rule is that ifis really seeking to get aworkplace,ywork with the roofing industry to figure Itstrategic. Istarted calling up members of Congress orsaferthe should has beenhaveout,yshort duration repairs in a sitting down with them on the floor of the House and then inviting themsolutions particularl with doingsafer way. But to put some type of fall arrest system up to do ajob to discuss legislation they are you working on. Is there something thatcaulking soil piperanchis on aon astyle home costs on average $100-$400. It workridiculous. Besides, you will have someone exposed on the roof longer we canon together? Could we find some common ground so that we can do things together? When you startthat approach, you will withthan iffixed the problem and left. It is not aod they justgo policy for generally find aaudience. Then, you start building friendships. receptiveroofing repairs at all. With friendship come trust, where they realize Ribble is not out for some problem. political gain but is just trying to solve aThen you can begin to open up and have conversations where you can disagree on things. That is where you have to get. Ithappen. There were probably about 165 major votes in the does House of Representatives in my first term, and nearly halfpassed were with bipartisan support. But you never hear that story; all that you hear about is the partisan wrangling. The wrangling is between the Senate and the House, and the President and the House,members not among of the House. There is some wrangling going on but, for the most part, you ifare willing to go look for solutions, you can find some willing partners on the other side of the aisle to work with you. MR:Has there been an instance where your roofing expertise has been called upon? When the House Education Workforce Committee was holding a hearing on the new fall protection rules that OSHA was promulgating at the beginning of 2011, they invited me to sit in on the hearing-to actually be on the dais to be one of the questioners. They said, 'You are the only member of Congress that has any experience in this. Would you be willing to come in?' Iconsentthe minority party had unanimousfrom re-roofingution for your building. to join in, even though Inot sitthat committee. The democratssoldoon allowed me to questioq the director of OSHA on fall protection. Early in 2011, the majority leader, Eric Cantor asked me as a ,former I businessperson ifwould be willing to work on developing a jobs agendaCongress. Itogether aall the busifor the 112thputcaucus ofAskTke Leo.d-ert~Me~o.l-over-Me~ol Rel:roft~ Re-rooft~9 5~s~eMs ness owners on ourofaisle-about 37 of us who had actually sidethe800-771-1711 run companies before. We, the House Republicans, drafted apaper whiteor877-202-2254www.roofhugger.com that became the driving program for legislation for job creation for thefax us at: 112th Congress. We have now passed more than 30 pieces of legisla-Midwest Roofer- www.mrca.org13"