Full Breakdown
House Committee Passes Bill to Block Federal Heat Safety Standards
7/24/2026, 8:09:19 PM
Legislative Action
The House Education and Workforce Committee approved the Heat Workforce Standards Act (H.R. 6213) on a party-line vote of 18-15. The measure, introduced by Rep. Mark Messmer (R-Ind.), would prohibit the U.S. Labor Department from finalizing any Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule that establishes nationwide heat-protection standards for workers. If enacted, the bill would bar OSHA from issuing or enforcing a federal heat safety standard, effectively nullifying the Biden administration’s two-year-old proposal.
Proposed OSHA Rule and Context
The Biden administration’s pending regulation would require employers to provide water and a cool rest area when temperature-humidity indices reach 80 °F. The Labor Department estimates the rule could protect roughly 36 million workers. The committee’s markup occurred as a heat wave blanketed the Midwest and weeks after a “heat dome” event that may have caused dozens of deaths in New Jersey.
Stakeholder Positions
- Rep. Messmer called the Biden-Harris proposal a “terrible rule” that would harm businesses without evidence of safety improvement.
- Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.) argued that eliminating the standard “puts people at continued risk.”
- Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) urged adoption of an alternative bill that would direct OSHA to adopt a heat standard, noting the current proposal’s inadequacy.
Data on Heat-Related Worker Risks
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 55 worker deaths from heat exposure in 2023, a figure researchers say likely undercounts true fatalities. Heat-related deaths in the United States have more than doubled since 1999, and a report by the Groundwork Collaborative, Workshop, and Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy projected that basic federal heat protections could save up to 1,500 lives annually.
Verbatim Quotes
- “That's the wrong direction when workers' lives are on the line.” — Ahead, of Tuesday's vote, a coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups
- “When it comes to any OSHA standard I too want to make sure that it’s workable for businesses to understand and to follow, but throwing out the entire standard altogether is wrong and puts people at continued risk,” — Mannion. Committee Republicans
