Congress

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su used a Jan. 26 event to back Democrats’ latest iteration of a bill that would set a strict deadline for OSHA to enact its long-delayed workplace violence standard for the healthcare sector, despite the agency’s failure to even set a target for a proposal some eight years after beginning the rulemaking process.

As the Supreme Court moves to require clearer congressional authorization for OSHA and other agencies to regulate, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is considering options for expanding Congress’ oversight of administrative rulemakings, including creating a new Congressional Office of Regulatory Review.

EPA chemicals chief Michal Freedhoff told GOP senators during a Jan. 24 hearing that the agency will ease its approach to calculating workplace existing chemical exposure limits (ECELs) when risk evaluations would support limits below “background” levels -- a move that could partly address employers’ arguments that its proposals so far have been unachievably strict.

Lawmakers and industry groups that support the lapsed Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program are warning that states could create a “patchwork” of substitutes for the federal initiative following introduction of one such bill in Nebraska, adding urgency to their steady calls for Congress to pass a reauthorization.

Industry figures say enough lawmakers are signaling support for reauthorizing the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program that they expect “opportunities” for a renewal in the new year -- though still with some uncertainty over whether that support will be enough to push a bill across the finish line.

The House has overwhelmingly approved a Republican-backed bill extending funding for several agencies including OSHA through Feb. 2, but the chamber adjourned Nov. 15 for the Thanksgiving holiday without voting on a full-year funding bill for the Labor Department (DOL) in a sign that lawmakers are still struggling with fiscal year 2024 appropriations.

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is setting a quick timeline for the House to mark up individual appropriations bills, forcing lawmakers to vote on a bill that seeks to slash funding for OSHA and other agencies in fiscal year 2024 while prompting new warnings from Democrats over a possible government shutdown next month.

Groups representing sheriffs and other first responders are again urging lawmakers to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, warning that allowing it to lapse has increased terrorism risks and limited collaboration between local emergency services.

OSHA chief Doug Parker used a Sept. 27 House hearing to warn lawmakers against an increasingly-likely government shutdown, arguing that a lapse in appropriations will hamstring the agency’s enforcement work including a new silica initiative, while also seeking to defend its regulatory agenda against attacks by Republican panel members.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su can continue in her position because provisions in federal law establishing Department of Labor (DOL) positions preempt time limitations in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act on how long a federal official can serve in an acting capacity.