October 31, 2003
                                
Mr. Robert E. Burt
Small Business Advocacy Chair
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20210

Re:  Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica; SBREFA
     Small Business Advocacy Review Panel

Dear Mr. Burt:

     Thank you for your letter of October 20, 2003, officially
notifying the Office of Advocacy that the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) will convene a Small Business
Advocacy Review panel for the above-captioned rule under section
609(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA).
We welcome the opportunity to work with OSHA and the Office of
Management and Budget on this important panel.

     In preparation, the Office of Advocacy worked with you to
develop the list of small entity representatives (SERs) who will
provide input to the panel.  We concur in the list of SERs you
have provided.  It is my understanding that OSHA has reviewed the
potential SERs to ensure that only regulated small entities are
selected to participate and address issues of importance to small
entities.

     Pursuant to section 609(b)(4) of the RFA, you have provided
supporting materials, a draft regulatory analysis, and draft rule
to the panel members for review.  I understand that several pre-
panel meetings were held in accordance with the current OSHA
SBREFA guidance to assure the adequacy and timeliness of the
information and data provided to the small entity representatives
and the panel members.

     Thank you for your continued support and advocacy for small
business issues.  Please contact Charles Maresca of my staff at
(202) 205-6978 if you have any questions.
  
Sincerely,

Thomas M. Sullivan
Chief Counsel for Advocacy


  cc:  Dr. John D. Graham
     Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

     Mr. John Henshaw
     Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health