'Aggressive Assault On Worker Protections': Ilhan Omar Slams Deregulation Of Safety Laws

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In a House Education Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) spoke about OSHA.

Transcript

00:01Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

00:06Over the last six months, the Trump administration has embarked on an aggressive assault on worker protections.

00:14And just in the past two weeks, Trump's Department of Labor has released five dozen deregulatory rulemakings,

00:22two-thirds of which focus on health and safety issues.

00:26These proposals target core worker protections, including changes to child labor rules,

00:33removing a requirement as basic and essential as having adequate lighting on construction sites,

00:39and even weakening workers' protection against asbestos.

00:43This spree of deregulation follows months of mass firing at the very agencies tasked with researching

00:51and investigating workplace conditions and a proposed budget that would reduce inspections

00:58and slash DOL's capacity to develop new safety standards.

01:03The message is clear.

01:05Workers' rights and protections are under attack.

01:09Compliance assistant programs, such as the Voluntary Protection Program, have their place.

01:14But they are no substitute for a clear standard that are actively and effectively enforced.

01:21No job should ever be a death sentence.

01:24Workers deserve to come home to their families at the end of the day, alive, healthy, and whole.

01:30Yet, according to the AFL-CIO, workplace hazards killed approximately 140,000 workers in 2023,

01:41including 5,283 workers from traumatic injuries and an estimated 135,000 from occupational diseases.

01:52To protect workers from harm, Congress has passed landmark safety laws and established important agencies

02:01like OSHA, IMSA, NIOSH, and the Chemical Safety and Hazards Investigation Board.

02:09When they are all allowed to do their jobs and are fully funded,

02:13these agencies save lives and prevent harm to workers.

02:17But now the Trump administration is attempting to strip away safety regulations,

02:23dismantle critical agencies like NIOSH and CSP.

02:28In doing so, they are threatening the lives of workers who rely on those safeguards

02:34and the resources these agencies provide.

02:37In my own district, we're already feeling the consequences of these cuts.

02:41The University of Minnesota's Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety

02:47is one of just 18 NIOSH-funded education and research centers in the nation.

02:53It trains the next generation of workplace safety experts

02:57who will help protect our workers in high-risk industries.

03:02Without NIOSH, the invaluable research and workforce development provided by that center

03:08and others like it across the country will be lost.

03:12That means fewer trained medical and safety professionals,

03:16less research capacity on critical issues such as heat stress,

03:21decreased investment in innovative technologies that can prevent illness and injury.

03:26The Trump administration's deregulatory agenda will result in more injuries,

03:31more deaths, more grieving families,

03:33and less accountability for employers who put their workers in harm's way.

03:38Committee Democrats are committed to honoring these workers

03:42who have been harmed or killed on the job,

03:45not just with words but with action to change the system.

03:49Later today, Ranking Member Scott will reintroduce a bill

03:52that will finally bring workers the common-sense protection they deserve

03:56against heat-related injuries and illness.

03:59I am proud to co-sponsor the Unsancian Valdivia Heat Illness Injury and Fatality Protection Act,

04:09which requires OSHA to finally issue an enforceable rule with the strongest feasible protection

04:17against heat illness, including paid rest break, access to water, shaded or cooled recovery areas,

04:25and training that is delivered in the language and format the workers understand.

04:30These are sensible safeguards that will save lives.

04:34Ranking Member Scott, Representative Courtney, and I also reintroduced the Protecting Americans Workers Act,

04:43which would make long-overdue improvements to the enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

04:50This bill would expand coverage to millions of workers currently excluded from the law's protections

04:57and strengthen whistleblower protections.

05:00These reforms are critical to preventing the most serious violations that endangers worker safety.

05:06Democrats are offering real solutions to the problems workers face on the job

05:10instead of ripping away protections.

05:13I hope that our discussion today can center around ensuring that workers come home safely at the end of the day.

05:20Finally, Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement

05:26from the United Steel Workers about the Compliance Assistance Program we will be discussing today.

05:33Without objection.

05:35Thank you, and I yield back.

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