{"id":2283038,"date":"2024-06-25T08:16:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ems-firefighters-challenge-worsened-by-osha-proposal-lawmakers-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T08:20:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:20:24","slug":"ems-firefighters-challenge-worsened-by-osha-proposal-lawmakers-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ems-firefighters-challenge-worsened-by-osha-proposal-lawmakers-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"EMS, firefighters challenge worsened by OSHA proposal: Lawmakers &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fems-firefighters-challenge-worsened-by-osha-proposal-lawmakers-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283038&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the concerns raised by Rep. Virginia Foxx and other \u2062members of Congress regarding a proposed new rule\u200c by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This rule aims to expand and replace the current fire brigades standard to cover a broader range of entities, including those providing technical research, rescue, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-vaccine-guidelines-prioritize-marijuana-workers-over-teachers-promoting-equity\/\" title=\"California Vaccine Guidelines Prioritize Marijuana Workers Over Teachers, Promoting \u2018Equity\u2019\">emergency medical services<\/a>. The lawmakers argue that while the safety intent of the rule is \u2062acknowledged, it would impose significant administrative burdens and\u200b costs. This could exacerbate existing \u200dchallenges in recruiting and retaining emergency service personnel, particularly in the context of areas like Wake \u2064County, North\u2062 Carolina\u2014which is actively working to expand its emergency response capabilities due to its growing population. In contrast, more rural areas might face even greater difficulties under\u2062 the new rule.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 Already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-navy-says-fight-with-china-is-likely-in-the-2020s\/\" title=\"U.S. Navy Says Fight With China Is Likely in the 2020s\">facing significant challenges<\/a>, emergency service organizations such as fire and EMS departments could face tougher operations and recruitment if the Department of Labor finalizes a new OSHA rule, a North Carolina congresswoman and her colleagues say.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and 23 other members of Congress have urged Julie Su, the record-setting unconfirmed nominee for commissioner of the Labor Department, to withdraw the rule proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Lawmakers say the rule\u2019s safety intent is respected, but will do far more harm than good.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/FR-2024-03-28\/pdf\/2024-06610.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>proposal would replace<\/strong><\/a> the fire brigades standard and broaden \u201cthe scope of entities covered beyond firefighting service to include entities that provide technical research and rescue and emergency medical services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Committee on Education and the Workforce in the House of Representatives, led by Chairwoman Foxx, says it is a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d proposal that \u201cmandates massive administrative burdens and costs that will worsen existing challenges in recruiting and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ems-1m-tuition-aid-short-term-fix-for-a-long-term-problem\/\" title=\"EMS offers M tuition aid as a temporary solution to a persistent issue\">retaining emergency responders<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wake County, the largest county in North Carolina at more than 1.1 million in the 2020 census, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wake.gov\/news\/wake-board-adopts-208-billion-budget-fiscal-year-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>added 10 more ambulances and staff to run them<\/strong><\/a> in fiscal year 2025. It added more than $30 million to a budget exceeding $2 billion.<\/p>\n<p>County growth makes it an ongoing task to add firefighters and emergency medical crews to keep pace.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, in more rural areas, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_0aca19ee-327e-11ee-bb0f-6b79056df06f.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Center Square reported in Pennsylvania<\/strong><\/a>, funding and recruitment are so challenging that the immediacy of help arriving after a 911 call ends \u2013 the \u201ccold, hard truth\u201d as Adams Area Fire District Lt. Taylor Goodlin said \u2013 is not guaranteed. State lawmakers there have worked to increase reimbursement rates and flexibility of ambulance crews.<\/p>\n<p>Emergency services wouldn\u2019t be the only industry hurt, according to lawmakers. In the letter, they say private sector workers in manufacturing, oil and gas, and warehousing benefit from tailored emergency response-related standards that have proven effective in preventing accidents. The new requirements in the proposed rule \u201cwould do little to enhance safety in these workplaces and would simply create more paperwork,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n<p>Congressional members also say Su and OSHA are burdening individuals in the entities with \u201cincreased medical and physical requirements.\u201d Volunteers with experience and skill could get disqualified, they say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLocal governments, municipalities, and private sector employers are doing everything they can to recruit and retain qualified emergency responders,\u201d the letter concludes. \u201cThe federal government should support this effort rather than exacerbating existing challenges as the proposed rule would do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter dated Monday doesn\u2019t include any Democrats. In addition to Foxx, the other 23 Republicans include fellow North Carolinians Chuck Edwards and Richard Hudson; Pennsylvanians Glenn Thompson, Dan Meuser and Scott Perry; New Yorkers Brandon Williams, Andrew Garbarino, Elise Stefanik and Michael Lawler; South Carolinians Ralph Norman, Joe Wilson and Russell Fry; Indiana\u2019s Jim Banks, Erin Houchin and Larry Bucshon; Florida\u2019s Aaron Bean; Illinois\u2019 Mike Bost; Utah\u2019s Burgess Owens; Idaho\u2019s Russ Fulcher; Michigan\u2019s Tim Walberg; Georgia\u2019s Rick Allen; Missouri\u2019s Eric Burlison; and Wyoming\u2019s Harriet Hageman.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emergency service organizations, including fire and EMS, may struggle more with operations and recruitment due to a proposed OSHA rule, according to Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and 23 other Congress members. They have expressed their concerns to Julie Su at the Department of Labor about the potential impacts of finalizing this rule<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2283039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP23110739989111-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32578,3907,3673,32579],"class_list":["post-2283038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ems","tag-firefighters","tag-lawmakers","tag-osha-proposal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP23110739989111-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}