Congress

Lawmakers and witnesses at a recent Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee (EPW) hearing on extreme heat appeared open to a union official’s arguments that this summer’s record temperatures show the need for stronger worker protections, though several also expressed opposition to a “one-size-fits-all” nationwide policy.

A chemical-sector trade group is laying out ways facilities can maintain their current recordkeeping and security practices even after Congress allowed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program to expire, saying companies still have options to continue many of its protections as they wait for a reauthorization vote.

Chemical industry groups are planning to resume their push to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard (CFATS) program as soon as Congress returns from its August recess, over a month after lawmakers allowed it to lapse in July -- and likely with a two-year term rather than the five-year extension initially proposed by Senate leaders.

The chairman of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over OSHA’s worker-protection duties says that he intends to prioritize oversight of the agency’s rulemaking work in the coming years, and is specifically highlighting plans to press for more stakeholder involvement in the rulemaking process, especially from small businesses.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is calling on EPA to “claw back” almost $100,000 of money “wasted” by former Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) chair Katherine Lemos, following a report from EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) that found she misspent board funds on travel and other expenses during her time as its sole member.

Republicans on the House COVID-19 committee have opened an investigation of OSHA’s development and implementation of its now-abandoned COVID-19 vaccination rule, probing how the standard came to be and requesting extensive documentation and communications from the agency to investigate “any wrongdoing by government officials.”

Chemical industry groups are warning that thousands of facilities could face increased risk of terrorist attacks after the Senate adjourned for its summer recess without approving pending House legislation reauthorizing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) chemical facility security program for two years before its authority expired July 27.

Facing a looming July 27 deadline, Congress appears poised to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) chemical facility security program for two years, after a key senator agreed to support a House bill that fell short of his push for a longer five-year extension.

Senate health committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with more than 100 Democrats, are pressing OSHA to quickly adopt a strict heat protection standard, arguing in part that such a measure is needed to preempt states like Texas that are curbing local efforts to protect workers from stifling heat, which has already resulted in several worker deaths.

Republican leaders on the House homeland security committee are backing a bill to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program into 2025, just weeks ahead of its expiration on July 27, even as a bipartisan Senate coalition is seeking a five-year extension instead.