'What Is The Plan To Keep Workers Safe?': Ilhan Omar Questions Lori Chavez-DeRemer About OSHA Cuts

Forbes Breaking News

At today's House Education & Workforce Committee hearing, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) questioned Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Transcript

00:00Thank the gentleman. Now, I recognize the gentlelady from Minnesota for five minutes of questioning, Ms. Omar.

00:06Thank you, Madam Secretary, for being here with us and watching the hearing earlier.

00:12I learned that you're also a former union member.

00:15My father was a teamster.

00:16Ah, okay. All right. I'm a former AFSCME member.

00:19So, I wanted to talk a little bit about the child labor enforcement.

00:27In two appropriations hearings last month, you expressed a firm commitment to fighting illegal child labor.

00:34At the same time, your agency has decimated ILAP, including its work, to prevent child labor.

00:41Your budget proposal will weaken a historically under-resourced wage and hour division.

00:46The nominee to be your solicitor of labor wrote a chapter in Project 2025,

00:55which literally calls for the rolling back of child labor laws.

00:59Madam Secretary, can you assure this committee that you will not propose any rollbacks of child labor rules

01:06that prevent children from being employed in hazardous occupations?

01:10I commit to fighting against all child labor exploitation.

01:15Absolutely, in this country, we do not want to exploit our children.

01:19Consistent with putting the American worker first, the budget does streamline ILAP.

01:24It is one of the agency heads, agency departments, that protect the American worker

01:31and protect against child labor violations.

01:34The budget provides for about $70 million to ILAP, including $38 million in grant funding,

01:39while restoring ILAP's emphasis on putting the American worker first.

01:41So that's a long way of you saying yes?

01:44I will work absolutely to combat all child labor.

01:47Wonderful.

01:48Many workers across the country will feel the impacts of your staffing and funding cuts to WHD and OSHA.

01:56As of May 2025, WHD employs just 611 investigators nationwide.

02:06This is the lowest number since at least 1973,

02:11even though there are nearly 10 times as many workers and businesses for them to cover.

02:17Your budget proposal cutting the office by $25 million, with staffing projected to fall.

02:25Your budget would also cut OSHA inspectors by over 12%,

02:31even though currently it will take 185 years to inspect every workplace just once.

02:39Madam Secretary, what is the plan to keep workers safe when you're slashing enforcement?

02:45Yeah, no, thank you again.

02:47You know, again, one of the overall core missions is to protect the American worker,

02:52and that includes in the wage and hour division as well.

02:54And while we are streamlining and doing some cost saving for the American taxpayer,

02:59we will always be in compliance with our statutory requirements.

03:02Well, that isn't, Madam Secretary, if I can just interrupt for one second.

03:06At one point, DOGE was set to close 20 WHD field offices and 11 OSHA offices.

03:14If this is happening, how will this protect workers?

03:17So, the offices that we have been, that were originally proposed through GSA,

03:25we have worked with to bring them online.

03:28I don't think that that is a good use of the compliance issue that we have to protect the American worker.

03:34And through the DRP, none of our essential workers, either through wage and hour, through OSHA, through MSHA,

03:41were able to take those because we know we need those investigators on the ground to protect the American worker,

03:46and I advocated for that.

03:48Yeah, but having fewer investigators and inspectors will not protect workers from wage theft,

03:56misclassification, and dangerous working conditions.

03:59So, how are you going to operate with less, even though we didn't even have enough to begin with?

04:04Well, it depends on what the priorities are from the past administration, but in this administration...

04:08Are inspections not priorities?

04:10They are priorities to protect the American worker.

04:11But with less inspectors, you can't do investigations.

04:14What we don't want to do is weaponize the use of those funding dollars against...

04:18How is there weaponization if you are...

04:21If it's going to take you 187 years to complete inspections,

04:27and you are cutting the inspectors that are supposed to do those inspections,

04:31the math is not mathing.

04:33Well, statutorily, we will protect the American worker.

04:36We did not have any of our investigators currently.

04:38We're not able to take the DRP in order so that they can be assigned to the job that they are required to...

04:43So, are you saying that you're going to hire more investigators to do inspections?

04:47What I'm saying is, we did not allow our statutorily mandated offices that we need essential workers,

04:54like our investigators, through Wage and Hour, through MSHA, and through OSHA,

04:59to take the DRP because they are essential to protecting the American worker in these industries.

05:04We can still cost-save and do the job that we need to do.

05:07So, American workers can expect that you will expedite investigations to make sure that we are assuring their safety?

05:13American workers can expect that the Department of Labor will protect the American worker

05:18as it is a core mission of the Department of Labor.

05:20I hope you keep that promise.

05:22I yield back.

05:23I thank the gentleman.

Category

Transcript

Recommended