Extreme Heat Caucus

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for organizing this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, this summer, Americans from coast to coast are enduring the hottest temperatures in recorded history. Days are not just uncomfortable, they are life-threatening for millions of workers across the country.

From agricultural workers in the fields, to warehouse employees, to construction crews and factory staff, many are laboring in extreme heat with no Federal protection from one of the oldest, most serious, most common workplace hazards, and that is, of course, heat stress.

The science is clear, the medical evidence is overwhelming, and the moral case is undeniable. Yet, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, still lacks a national standard to protect workers from dangerous heat exposure on the job.

In addition to the important legislation mentioned by the gentleman from Arizona to address the issue, I am a proud cosponsor of the bill introduced by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu) to prevent senseless deaths of workers due to heat. The bill honors the memory of a farm worker who tragically died after working 10 straight hours in 105 degree heat without access to shade, water, or a break. His death was preventable, as are the deaths of so many others happening every year.

We have known for a long time that it does not have to be this way. In the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great was counseled to guard against heat stress as his troops marched through the desert. Heat stress is even documented several times in the Old Testament. Our own military adopted a heat stress prevention program in 1952, and I remember when I was in basic training in the Army, when the heat reached certain temperatures, we would have to loosen the bottom of our pants and stop doing physical training, or PT. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, advised OSHA on the need to protect workers from heat stress back in 1972, and again in 1986, and yet again in 2016.

Workers have waited long enough. Thanks to Representative Chu's leadership, we have reintroduced a bill that will end delays and excuses and finally bring workers the commonsense protection they deserve. Within one year, OSHA would be required under the bill to finally issue an enforceable rule setting out the strongest feasible protections against heat illness. It empowers OSHA to require rest breaks, access to water, shaded or cool recovery areas, and training that delivers information in a language and format that workers can certainly understand. These are simple and sensible safeguards that will save lives.

As the climate crisis accelerates, workers are increasingly at risk. Heat stress is a predictable problem, but it is also a preventable problem. The urgency of the crisis requires us to act now, and this legislation is the roadmap for that action. Workers' lives depend on it.

I thank the gentleman from Arizona for forming the Extreme Heat Caucus and for organizing this Special Order to give us the opportunity to emphasize the importance of this issue.

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