It’s been more than a year since the Labor Dept. had an assistant secretary in place to oversee the Occupational Safety and Health Administration but now there are signs of progress in filling the job. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a Jan. 31 confirmation hearing for President Bush’s nominee for the post, South Carolina labor lawyer Edwin G. Foulke Jr. Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) wants his panel to vote on Foulke in March. Industry and labor union officials are awaiting OSHA action on several construction issues.

Foulke, a former chairman of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, told Enzi’s panel that, if confirmed, he would continue OSHA’s outreach to employers and pledged “strong, fair and effective enforcement.” Foulke spoke mostly in similar generalities, saying that “injury, illness and fatality prevention will continue to be the top priority of OSHA.”