Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced a measure into Congress on November 2nd to abolish the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) after the agency developed a rule that mandates private businesses with more than 100 employees to require COVID19 mRNA treatments of ‘vaccines’ or implement burdensome testing requirements on their employees. In response to this unconstitutional action, launched during Biden’s now-infamous speech when he described his ‘patience’ as “wearing thin“, Rep. Biggs has called for the regulatory body’s dissolution. Showing Biden that Republicans’ patience with him is long gone.
According to a Statement from Biggs,
“OSHA’s existence is yet another example of the federal government creating agencies to address issues that are more appropriately handled by state governments and private employers,”
“Arizona, and every other state, has the constitutional right to establish and implement their own health and safety measures, and is more than capable of doing so. It’s time that we fight back against the bloated federal government and eliminate agencies that never should have been established in the first place.”
“I will not let OSHA push Arizona around with their bureaucratic regulations and urge my colleagues to support my effort to eliminate this unconstitutional federal agency,” the Arizona Republican added.
In a statement posted to Twitter, following the announcement Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promised legal action if OSHA attempted to impose this rule on Floridians.
Governor Ron DeSantis on the OSHA vaccine mandates: "I think this is so far beyond what we've ever seen before that…I think we have a very, very high chance of success." pic.twitter.com/DyvejwvqVa
— Newsmax (@newsmax) November 4, 2021
The bill in its very title makes it clear that this is a nullification measure against a rampant federal government, the ‘‘Nullify Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act’’ of the “NOSHA Act” was co-sponsored by Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Thomas Massie (R-KY). Rep. Massie tweeted, “ABOLISH OSHA. Any agency carrying out hurtful and unconstitutional acts on the American people is an agency that needs to be abolished. We introduced a bill this week to NULLIFY OSHA.” Massie is absolutely right, any agency used by the Biden-Harris regime to unconstitutionally strip Americans of their rights must be abolished.
ABOLISH OSHA. Any agency carrying out hurtful and unconstitutional acts on the American people is an agency that needs to be abolished. We introduced a bill this week to NULLIFY OSHA. #NOSHA @RepAndyBiggsAZ @RepMattGaetz @RepChipRoy @RepRalphNorman @RepScottPerry @RepMaryMiller pic.twitter.com/uaCp5YmfcW
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 5, 2021
The bill takes no action to replace the safety regulator and simply abolishes it, devolving its powers back to the states by default in accord with the Tenth Amendment to The United States Constitution.
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
An Ineffective Regulatory Body Given An Order They Can’t Enforce?
While many like Reps. Biggs, Massie, and Roy are rightly pushing back against this perversion of OSHA and massive federal overreach, others are taking a more congenial and humorous route, simply pointing out the utter ineffectiveness of OSHA and making light of how sad it is that Biden must rely on them to enforce his dictatorial mandate. And they’re not wrong, the internet if full of memes and images that have caused OSHA manuals to spontaneously combust.
Nobody would ever break an OSHA regulation so this vaccine mandate will totally work guys pic.twitter.com/VkFWSYsgJB
— Stunning & Brave (@Brave_Stunning) November 4, 2021
But aside from the fantastic memes there is some validity to this point. Just a year ago in September 2020, a new report found OSHA to be ineffective at protecting workers. “Recently, Michael Silverstein, M.D., authored a report claiming that the standards outlined in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) adopted in 1970 are ineffective and sometimes ignored by employers. His report was one of 13 reports concerning workers compensation issues organized by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. Silverstein is the assistant director for Industrial Safety and Health in the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.”
“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, OSHA has been successful in preventing 7 percent more on-the-job injuries in 2006 (4 percent) than in 1972 (down from 11 percent). However, Silverstein claims that the Bureau’s methods of recording injuries are ineffective and that injuries have been misrepresented.”
“One of Silverstein’s complaints is that many employers forego inexpensive or more burdensome safety protections for dangerous jobs and that their employees are paying the price. At least one worker is killed every week by trench cave-ins, which can be prevented by methods such as sloping, shoring, and shielding. These methods are required by OSHA but are commonly ignored by employers.”
Silverstein’s report also went on to question OSHA regulations regarding hazardous chemicals. There are 70,000 hazardous chemicals used commercially nationwide and only 33 have corresponding OSHA regulations to protect workers from exposure to them. One OSHA-regulated chemical, hexavalent chromium, was included in the regulations only after a court order demanded it. It probably didn’t hurt that the film Erin Brockavich added hexavalent chromium to the public vocabulary either. This all points to a highly reactive agency, rather than one pro-actively working to safeguard the workplace so… yeah. Back to the memes though.
