1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I have a serious question for you: Why are members of your party introducing legislation that would make American workers less safe? Your Republican colleagues are advancing legislation that would prevent OSHA from establishing a nationwide workplace standard specifically protecting workers from dangerous heat. We are talking about basic protections for people working in extreme temperatures: access to water, reasonable rest breaks, protections for workers becoming acclimated to heat, and procedures to prevent heat illness and death. These are not extravagant benefits. These are the basics of keeping human beings alive and safe while they earn a paycheck. And this is becoming part of a much larger and deeply troubling pattern. Again and again, Americans watch Republican lawmakers pursue policies that weaken worker protections, attack collective bargaining rights, undermine federal employees, cut or threaten programs families depend on, and reduce regulations intended to protect ordinary people. At some point, you have to ask yourselves: Who exactly are you governing for? Because I genuinely do not understand the political strategy here. How do you expect Americans to continue voting for the GOP when your party repeatedly gives them reasons not to? People want to work and come home safely. They want affordable healthcare. They want Social Security and Medicare they can depend on. They want decent wages, safe workplaces, functioning government services, and some basic economic security. They want elected officials who make their lives better, not politicians who seem determined to dismantle even the most basic protections they have. You cannot spend years making life harder for working Americans and then act surprised when those same Americans stop voting for you. And please do not tell me this is about eliminating “burdensome regulation.” Water and rest during dangerous heat should not be controversial. Preventing workers from becoming seriously ill or dying on the job should not be partisan. You have an opportunity to distinguish yourself from members of your party who seem to have forgotten that government is supposed to serve the people. So I am asking you directly: Do you support legislation that would prevent OSHA from establishing nationwide protections for workers exposed to dangerous heat? And more broadly, when are you and your Republican colleagues going to start asking whether the legislation you support actually improves the lives of the Americans you were elected to represent? Because voters are watching. And eventually, a party that consistently governs against the interests of ordinary working people should not be surprised when ordinary working people decide they have had enough. I urge you to oppose this legislation and start demanding something better from your party. Americans are not asking for much. They are asking for a government that does not actively make their lives harder.