Drug and alcohol testing : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, first session, on S. 561 ... June 15, 1989

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee On Commerce Science And Transportation

Sujets

• Drug test

Informations

• Publié par: les_archives_du_savoir
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

S. Hrg. 101-191
ALCOHOLTESTINGDRUGAND
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEEONCOMMERCE,
SCIENCE,ANDTRANSPORTATION
STATES SENATEUNITED
HUNDRED FIRSTCONGRESSONPI
SESSIONFIRST12
ON
S. 561
LAWFULTO PROVIDE FOR TESTING FOR THE USE, WITHOUT
AUTHORIZATION, OF ALCOHOL OR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES BY THE
OPERATORS OF AIRCRAFT, RAILROADS, AND COMMERCIAL MOTOR
VEHICLES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
JUNE 15, 1989
for the use of thePrinted
Science, and TransportationCommittee on Commerce,
KF26
C69 GOVERNMENTPRINTINGOFFICEU.S.
19S9C
WASHINGTON : 1989
For sale by the Superintendent ofDocuments, Congressional Sales Office
U.S.Government Printing OfRcg, Washington, DC 20402
.^1S. Hrg. 101-191
ANDALCOHOLTESTINGDRUG
HEARING
THEBEFORE
COMMITTEEONCOMMERCE,
SCIENCE,ANDTRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONPMHUNDRED FIRSTCONGRESS
\ FIRST SESSION-/>
ON
561S.
PROVIDE FOR TESTING FOR THE USE. WITHOUT LAWFULTO
ALCOHOL OR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES BY THEAUTHORIZATION. OF
RAILROADS, AND COMMERCIAL MOTOROPERATORS OF AIRCRAFT,
VEHICLES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
JUNE 15. 1989
Printed for the use of the
Committeeon Commerce, Science, and Transportation
^F26
U.S.GOVERNMENTPRINTINGOFFICE
19S9C
WASHINGTON : 1989
For SuperintendentofDocuments, Congressional Sales Officesale by the
Washington, 20402U.S.Government Printing Office, DCAND TRANSPORTATIONCOMMERCE, SCIENCE,COMMITTEE ON
Carolina, Ch manERNEST F. HOLLINGS South
>RTH, MissouriHawaii JOHN C. DANEDANIEL K. INOUYE,
0;egonBOB PACKWOOD,WENDELL H. FORD, Kentucky
South DakotaLARRY PRESSLER,JAMES EXON, NebraskaJ.
TED STEVENS. AlaskaALBERT GORE, JR., Tennessee
JR., WisconsinWest Virginia ROBERT W. KASTEN,D. ROCKEFELLER IV,JOHN
JOHN MCCAIN, ArizonaLLOYD BENTSEN, Texas
CONRAD BURNS, MontanaKERRY, MassachusettsJOHN F.
SLADE GORTON, WashingtonB. BREAUX, LouisianaJOHN
RICHARD H.
CHARLES S. F
BOSTON
PUBLIC
tlBl^RYC ONTENTS
Page
Opening statement by the Chairman 1
Opening statement by Senator Danforth 3 by Inouye 3
Opening by Senator Rockefeller 51
Text of S. 561 5,
LIST OF WITNESSES
Bergoffen, Gene, executive vice president. National Private Truck Council 88
Prepared statement 90
Briggs. Richard E., executive vice president. Association of American Railroads 52
Prepared 54
Farrell, Joseph, president, American Waterway Operators 105
Prepared statement 107
Hardin. Fred A., international president. United Transportation Union 152
Prepared 155
Johnson. Arthur W., chairman. Safe Travel America: accompanied by Roger
Horn, president 46
Landgrebe, Karl M.. special assistant to the president. National Marine Engineers
Beneficial Assn 174
Luken, Hon. Thomas A., Representative from OhioU.S. 41
Prepared statement 44
Mann, Lawrence, counsel, Railway Labor Executives" Assn 130
Prepared :..>..... 131
O'Connell, K. Michael, counsel, Owner-Operators Independent Drivers
of AmericaAssociation 175
Prepared statement 178
Skinner, Hon. Samuel K., Secretary, DOT; accompanied by Grady Cothen 23
Prepared 25
ofQuestions the Chairman and the answers 27
Stone, Richard B., excecutive chairman for aeromedical resources. Air Line Pilots
Assn.; accompanied by Gary Green 161
Prepared statement 163
Verkler, Jerry T., senior vice president. Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America 118
Prepared statement 121
Ward, William R., chairman of the board, American Trucking Associations, Inc.;
accompanied by Robert Ferris, vice president of policy 66
Prepared statement 68
Wilson, Hon. Pete. U.S. Senator from California 39
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES, LETTERS, AND STATEMENTS
Air Transport Association of America, statement 226
American Airlines, Inc., statement 197
Association of Flight Attendants, statement 224
Bontz, Rita, president. Independent Truckers and Drivers Assn., letter 229
Chambers, Caroline M., director, congressional relations. National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners, letter 231
College of American Pathologists, statement 199
DiBona, Charles J., president, American Petroleum Institute, letter 232
Durham, R. V,, director, safety and health department, International Brotherhood
of Teamsters, statement 193
La Sala, Jim, international president. Amalgamated Transit Union, letter 236
Regular Common Carrier Conference, statement 208
Zegar, Denis R., statement 194
(IH)DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING FOR
TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEES
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1989
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 9:30 p.m., in room SR-253, Russell
Senate Office Building, Hon. Ernest F. Hollings [Chairman of the
Committee] presiding.
Staff members assigned to this hearing: Robert Holleyman, staff
counsel; Steve Palmer, professional staff member; Geri Hall, minor-
ity professional staff member; and Alan Maness, minority staff
counsel.
OPENING STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN
The Chairman. The committee will come to order.
Today's hearing is the fourth consecutive year that we have been
focusing on the problem of drug and alcohol abuse in transporta-
tion.
In each of those four years, this Committee has held hearings on
the extent of drug and alcohol abuse and the need for legislation to
ensure the safety of the traveling public. Time and again, we have
heard testimony on the absolute need for mandatory random test-
ing as a necessary means of ensuring deterrence.
Twice during the 100th Congress, the Senate adopted legislation
mandating random drug and alcohol testing for safety-sensitive em-
ployees in the rail, motor carrier, and commercial airline indus-
tries. Support was overwhelming, as the provisions of our bill were
adopted on an 87-3 vote in late 1987, and without debate during
consideration of the omnibus drug bill late last year. Both times,
however, our efforts were stymied by our colleagues in the House
of Representatives who opposed drug and alcohol testing or sought
to impose conditions on our bill that would have seriously under-
mined its effectiveness.
Its impossible to ignore the presence of alcohol and illegal drugs
in the transportation workplace. The facts speak for themselves.
This year alone, there have been 9 rail accidents in which either
alcohol or drugs were found to be present in employees responsible
for safe passage. Last year, on average, there was a rail accident in
which drugs or alcohol were involved every twelve and one-half
days. And we cannot forget the tragic January, 1987 accident in
Chase, Maryland in which an engineer's use of marijuana was the
probable cause for an accident between a Conrail freight train and
(1)fatalities and 174an Amtrak passenger train that resulted in 16
injuries.
examples show this is not an isolated problem:Other
insurance industry study found that 30 percent ofIn 1986, an
tested positive for drugs.some 300 truck drivers randomly sampled
cocaine use was a contrib-Investigators determined that a pilot's
commuter aircraft infactor in a January, 1988 crash of auting
in which nine people died.rural Colorado
bridge on the George WashingtonIn April, 1987, a bus struck a
and injuring 32 passengers. TheParkway in Virginia, killing one
marijuana.driver tested positive for cocaine, Valium, and
year in Princegrounding of the Exxon Valdez earlier thisThe
alcoholin which the captain's history ofWilliam Sound, Alaska,
in our minds.use is at issue, rings vividly
fruit. Last year, the De-Fortunately, our efforts have borne some
mandating testing ofpartment of Transportation issued rules
motor carrier,workers for illegal drugs in the rail,safety-sensitive
pipeline, and mass transit industries.aviation, maritime,
mandate drug and alcoholHowever, enactment of legislation to
objective and toptesting for transportation workers remains my
enough, failingsimply, the DOT rules do not go farpriority. Very
industry testing programs. Accident statisticsto include alcohol in
of the American travel-prove alcohol abuse a threat to the safety
illegal drugs. Forpublic at least as big—if not big bigger—thaning
Transportation7-year period, the Department ofexample, over a
li-had previously had their driversfound 10,300 individuals who
while intoxicated becamecenses suspended or revoked for driving
necessitates ourcertified pilots. Clearly alcohol is an issue that
action.
regula-lack the statutory backing thatSecondly, the DOT rules
Without having such statutorytions of this importance must have.
subject to the whimsi-backing, the existing drug testing rules are
Administrations.cal interpretations and revisions of future DOT
support of ourThe legislation that I introduced, with the strong
objec-Danforth, will accomplish theseRanking Member, Senator
bothother types of testing fortives. It will mandate random and
rights of those testedillegal drugs and alcohol. And it protects the
year by the Depart-by incorporating guidelines established last
accuracy, asment of Health and Human Services on laboratory
employees.protections for individual privacy and innocentwell as
on drugrecent Supreme Court decisionsI am heartened by the
Adminis-of Federal Railroadtesting—both on the constitutionality
and Cu