Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) criticized the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for burdening health care facilities with a permanent pandemic regulation:
 
“We appreciate the Department of Labor refuted the ridiculous claims from Democrats and their union allies that all American workers are presently in grave danger from the virus. Yet still, despite widespread vaccinations and COVID-19 cases at lows not seen since the beginning of the pandemic, OSHA caved to political pressure from special interests to adopt an emergency temporary standard (ETS) in the health care sector. Placing new and burdensome regulation on this heroic industry at this stage of the pandemic is completely unnecessary. Further, we cannot endorse an inflexible, restrictive regulation that is unable to keep up with the ever-evolving science regarding COVID-19.”  
 
BACKGROUND: In May, Committee Republicans sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Walsh urging him to suspend with ETS rulemaking proceedings in light of the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter referenced existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for fully vaccinated individuals, state actions relaxing restrictions on non-essential businesses, and pro-active steps taken by businesses around the country to limit workplace exposure to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.