Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee are urging the Trump administration to roll back a Biden-era regulation that limits mineworkers’ exposure to toxic silica dust.
In a letter to the Department of Labor on Tuesday, seven GOP lawmakers, including Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich.). argued the 2024 rule places “unwarranted and costly obligations” on the mining industry and fails to account for other measures to keep workers safe on the job.
“Simply put, the Biden-Harris administration’s actions failed to enhance worker safety when it limited protections for miners and imposed hundreds of millions of dollars in costs,” the letter states. “DOL should consider initiating a new rulemaking to prevent serious economic hardship.”
The Mine Safety and Health Administration rule lowers the maximum exposure level for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over the course of an eight-hour shift, down from the previous level of 100 micrograms.
