GARY L. VISSCHER CONFIRMED AS COMMISSIONER OF JOB SAFETY AGENCY

Gary L. Visscher has been confirmed as a Commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). OSHRC is the federal, independent agency that issues decisions in disputes arising from inspections of American workplaces.  He received Senate confirmation on May 20, 1999 to serve as a member of the agency, after President Bill Clinton nominated him last October to a term expiring April 27, 2001.

Before joining the Review Commission, Mr. Visscher was workforce policy counsel for the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the U.S. House of Representatives. In that post, he provided legal and strategic advice in all areas of employment and welfare policy and laws and was the principal Republican committee staff person on occupational safety and health issues.  He was appointed to that position in January 1998, after spending nine years as a professional staff member of the Committee.

Mr. Visscher, who resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, served as legislative director from 1985 to 1989 in the office of U.S. Representative Paul B. Henry.  He was the Congressman's principal legislative advisor, primarily focusing on labor, education, tax and trade issues. From 1983 to 1985, he was the Congressman's legislative assistant. He has also been an associate at the law firm of Nederlander, Dodge & McCauley in Detroit, Michigan and a law clerk for Chief U.S. Federal District Judge John Feikens in Michigan, his home state.

Mr. Visscher earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan and his Juris Doctor at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor.