Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, my amendment would prohibit funds from being used to implement a misguided and harmful rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regarding occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

This destructive rule was first proposed in 2013 and significantly threatens jobs in a number of industries around the country including: construction, foundries, aggregates, oil and gas, brick manufacturers, maritime as well as several other industries.

The limits set in this rule are simply unworkable, without extraordinary costs to both workers and job creators in my district and manufacturing centers across America. We are talking about the loss of thousands upon thousands of American jobs.

Furthermore, even if these companies were able to meet this unreasonable requirement without putting hardworking Americans out of work, commercial laboratories have not been able to measure workplace silica levels with any accuracy or consistency making it nearly impossible for employers to determine if they are in compliance.

We are in the midst of strong economic growth, but burdensome regulations like this threaten our economic well-being. In fact, the cost of compliance for the construction industry alone has been estimated to be nearly $5 billion per year.

This rule's impact on the Foundry industry would also be catastrophic. Independent analyses show it would cost the industry $2.2 billion annually, which represents 9.9 percent of the industry's revenue and an astounding 276 percent of its profits.

Another key industry that will suffer under this regulation is hydraulic fracturing which uses tremendous amounts of sand. The American energy sector has boomed in recent years--increasing economic prosperity and creating thousands of jobs across America. Hydraulic fracturing is also a major reason why our nation has become more energy independent and allowed us to help our allies in Europe while countering countries such as Russia and Iran.

The deadline for the construction industry to comply with this rule is September 23.

We cannot stand by while another burdensome and unworkable regulation is piled on job creators that are finally starting to see growth. We need to act now to protect American Jobs. I encourage you to join me in voting for this amendment to stop this job-destroying rule.

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