OSHA Must Drop Firefighter Safety Rule, Republican Lawmakers Say

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House committee with oversight of OSHA, is calling for the agency to drop its proposal to enact new requirements to protect firefighters and emergency medical responders.

In a letter sent Monday to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, Foxx and 23 other Republican members of the House of Representatives called the proposed requirements too expensive for volunteer and rural fire departments, specifically. Planned training mandates could also discourage people from joining those departments, they said.

The agency should “ consider alternative ways to protect the health and safety of emergency responders,” the lawmakers wrote. ...