Republican Leader of the Committee on Education and Labor, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and Republican Leader of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), issued the following statement after Committee Democrats cancelled at the last minute a subcommittee oversight hearing scheduled two weeks ago:
“The topic of tomorrow’s hearing - the federal government’s actions to protect workers from COVID-19 - is an issue Congressional Democrats assert is a top priority. Yet, with less than 24 hours-notice committee Democrats unilaterally decided to cancel the hearing. This very unusual action is perplexing, especially given the credentials of the confirmed witnesses and Chairman Scott’s recent comments saying, ‘let us commit to doing everything we can to keep workers safe.’
“Ten committee Republicans were en route to Washington to discuss this important topic. Senior officials from the Department of Labor (DOL) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) were confirmed to participate and ready to offer testimony and field questions on this timely topic as well.
“Unfortunately, Committee Democrats decided at the eleventh hour to sit on the sidelines. Our Republican members were prepared and eager to return to work to hear from senior administration officials about ongoing efforts to help ensure workers’ safety. It is disappointing that Committee Democrats refused to take yes for an answer. Instead, they want to wait to conduct Committee business from the comfort of their own homes. While frustrating, this course of action is consistent with their latest partisan move, passage of Pelosi’s proxy voting scheme, which upended over 200 years of precedent and allowed Democrats to collect a paycheck while staying home at a time when many Americans are desperate to get back to work and need Congress to do the same."
BACKGROUND: Two weeks ago, Democrats invited DOL and NIOSH to testify at a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing. DOL and NIOSH confirmed their attendance and notice of their participation was posted on the Committee website. Following their confirmation to participate, at no point did either DOL or NIOSH indicate that they would be unavailable to participate in the scheduled hearing.
