Why the Biden heat rule excludes millions of workers

Presented by the Center for Western Priorities: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jul 24, 2024 View in browser   By Joel Kirkland Presented by  President Joe Biden speaks about extreme heat this month. | Evan Vucci/AP Employees of cities, counties and states might have cheered a Biden administration plan to protect workers from extreme heat. But they are out of luck if they think it applies to them. President Joe Biden stood before a bright-orange U.S. heat map in early July to propose a first-ever federal rule that would guarantee the right to water, rest and shade under searing temperatures. The draft rule is undercut, however, by a 50-year-old loophole that leaves out nearly 8 million public workers,Ariel Wittenberg reports. Congress in 1972 authorized the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to make rules for private companies, not public employers. Though a state can opt in to federal safety rules, 23 states never opted in — which means the OSHA safeguards for heat exposure would not protect their county road crews, garbage collectors, city gardeners or other public employees. States without OSHA coverage are among the hottest places in the nation, including Florida, Texas and much of the Deep South. “If they aren’t covered by OSHA, they have no right to a safe workplace,” Jordan Barab, who was deputy assistant secretary for the agency during the Obama administration, told Ariel. “If someone gets hurt or killed, there is no investigation, no citation, no lessons learned.” The proposed regulation is estimated to cover 35 million workers. It marks a milestone for OSHA, which for decades ignored calls to implement heat safety regulations. ‘The D.C. bubble’ Even with its glaring loophole, the OSHA proposal is attracting heat from Capitol Hill. The plan is “idiotic,” said Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas. “The problem is, they have no concept of what it’s like in the real world; they live in the D.C. bubble,” he said of federal regulators. “You can’t be pouring concrete and the temperature hits a spot and it’s like, ‘OK, time out, concrete — wait, we’re going to take a water break.’ It’s ridiculous.” Republican Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana agreed. He said it was unnecessary for “government to come in and be overly prescriptive.” High temperatures killed an estimated 815 workers between 1992 and 2017 and seriously injured some 70,000 more, according to federal estimates. This is another record-breaking year for heat, with temperatures surpassing single-day records. Heat records have been broken in California, Arizona and Oregon. The regulation won’t be final until 2026 at the earliest. Vice President Kamala Harris, the potential Democratic nominee for president, is pressing a climate and pro-labor agenda. Former President Donald Trump has pledged to ax climate regulations if he returns to the White House. Whether this Biden rule makes it across the finish line is up to the voters in November.   It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Joel Kirkland. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jkirkland@eenews.net.   Live briefings, policy trackers, and procedural, industry, and people intelligence from POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy this election cycle. Secure your seat.      Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: James Bikales breaks down why Americans are leasing electric vehicles at record levels, and why Republicans may put a stop to it.   A message from the Center for Western Priorities: Outdoor Voters – 3 million strong in the West – want to see progress. Outdoor Voters care about conserving the public lands they cherish for future generations. They want to vote for leaders who will protect more outdoor spaces as national monuments and parks. For Outdoor Voters, a candidate’s position on conservation plays an important role in how they cast their ballots. Learn more about the issues Outdoor Voters in the West care about at outdoorvoter.org.   Power Centers Ike Irby (left) talks with Vice President Kamala Harris. | Lawrence Jackson/White House Harris' climate whisperer Ike Irby, a Colorado native with a penchant for electric buses, could become a prominent voice shaping climate policy if Harris wins her White House bid in 2024, writes Robin Bravender. Irby has been a top climate adviser to Harris since her days on Capitol Hill. The 37-year-old, who has a Ph.D. in marine science, was on Harris' team when she rolled out major environmental justice legislation as a senator. And he worked in the vice president's office through the enactment of the 2021 infrastructure law and the 2022 climate law. He also has a miniature poodle named Newton, whom Irby has declared part of the KHive. Everyone likes money Trump has slammed federal funding for EV chargers and vowed to "drill, baby, drill." But it's unclear how much of his energy agenda Trump would be able to implement if elected, write David Ferris, Carlos Anchondo and Clare Fieseler. That will partly depend on other players — including lawmakers, states and trade groups — who benefit from the Biden administration's clean energy funding. Trump would need majorities of both the House and Senate to repeal low-carbon tax credits, for example, and would face a lengthy regulatory process to undo climate rules. Paris exit: Part deux Trump could exit the Paris climate agreement more quickly during a second term, with more serious consequences than the first time around, writes Sara Schonhardt. A withdrawal could undermine global efforts to increase the flow of climate aid to threatened countries and prepare a would-be Trump administration to also leave the international treaty underpinning the agreement, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.   The space economy is already woven into our lives in ways we don't always appreciate, creating a global backbone for communications, media, data, science and defense. It's also becoming an increasingly competitive zone among nations - and a venue for complex and important public-private partnerships. Join POLITICO on July 30 for a conversation about what Washington needs to understand is at stake – which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space, and what the role of government leaders is in both growing and regulating the explosion of orbital ideas. REGISTER HERE.     In Other News Not welcome: Climate change is driving an uptick in invasive species in the U.S., which in turn reduces humanity's ability to adapt to the impacts of global warming. Snowbirds no more: Fewer Americans are migrating to the Sun Belt as climate change makes warm places hotter and cold places more livable.   A message from the Center for Western Priorities:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security Chair Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.). | Francis Chung/POLITICO House Republicans lambasted a sweeping transmission rule at a committee hearing today, drawing a sharp defense of the rule by the chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Democratic lawmakers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors Tuesday that the company would likely benefit in the "long term" if the Inflation Reduction Act was overturned during a second Trump administration. New York is at risk of blackouts without significant new electricity generation coming online before the middle of the next decade. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   A message from the Center for Western Priorities: There’s a powerful and growing voting bloc in the West: Outdoor Voters. What makes an outdoor voter? They live in states like Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Montana and are active in the West's outdoor lifestyle. They are reliable voters who pay attention to conservation issues like protecting public lands from oil and gas development, designating new national monuments, and maintaining outdoor access for recreation and enjoyment. Most importantly, a candidate’s position on conservation issues plays a decisive role in who they will vote for in this year’s elections. Candidates who want to win competitive races in the West need to earn Outdoor Voter support. Learn more about the issues that drive Outdoor Voters to the polls at outdoorvoter.org.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://login.politico.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service