Lynn C. Woolsey: “Last September, the Department of Labor published a proposed rule on children employed in agriculture. I saw it as an…”

“Last September, the Department of Labor published a proposed rule on children employed in agriculture. I saw it as an important regulation that would protect young people working in one of the top three most hazardous industries in the Nation--agriculture. But in May, the Department withdrew the rule. I want to say this again: in May of this year, the Department withdrew the rule. That wasn't enough, apparently, for the Republican majority. Today, they've decided to waste precious legislative time on a bill that tells the Department of Labor not to issue this regulation--again, a regulation the Department already withdrew. Today's debate gives new meaning to the idea of government waste. Not only did the Department of Labor withdraw this rule; the administration has said it will not reissue the rule. I was disappointed that the Department chose not to pursue the rule in the first place because the rule sought to implement specific recommendations made by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, OSHA, and increase parity between the agriculture and non- agriculture child labor provisions. Agriculture is dangerous, Mr. Speaker. Children working on farms, like their adult counterparts, work with or around toxic pesticides. They carry very heavy materials, and they use dangerous equipment. The fatality rate for child farmworkers is four times higher than for children in other industries.…”